The constant gigging is exhausting me and I still haven't quite recovered from the drinking and shouting at the wedding on Friday night. I think I am going to have to have a bit of a quiet time in Edinburgh or I will destroy myself. Imagine - treating the Fringe as a professional engagement rather than a four week bender!
But I think I might be forced to act my age for once, if I am going to get through it. And I don't want this show to suffer from illness and alcoholic fugginess. It requires a certain amount of energy and emotion from me and I don't want to short change the audience or the show by giving duff performances.
I had to do two shows back to back tonight in two pubs that were about 20 minutes drive from each other. It was quite tough work.
It's also a bit tricky doing this show in a pub, comedy club environment, as the more poignant stuff can seem a bit out of place to an audience expecting ribaldry and laughs. In the first gig the first 45 minutes went very well, but there was some sniggering and shuffling during my story about meeting my first girlfriend after 20 years. As I left in a hurry to get to the next gig I was behind a man who oblivious to my prescence said,"Yeah it was good, but too long though." In fact I had managed to peg it back to 65 minutes, but if you're at a comedy club, expecting acts to last 20 minutes and to be laying on the jokes then that length of time between drinks can be a bit inconvenient.
It isn't too long though. In fact I really could do with more time to get everything in. When I can do two halves of 50 minutes I think this show will be blistering. As it is it's a little tricky to get the balance right. But there's still 10 days to go and five more previews and I am confident that I will get it down to a tight and satisfying 60 minutes. I am going to have to start to get brutal. But also need to firm up a few of the sections which I am still just ad libbing at the moment.
At the second gig the man I picked on, accusing him of masturbating to the St Trinian's films, looked very uncomfortable and shifted in his seat, then looked at his phone as if trying to distract attention from himself, then said something to the woman he was with and got up and left. It seemed an innocuous thing to be offended by. I was clearly just picking on him randomly, but assumed he was very shy and couldn't cope with the attention (though if you think about it he was drawing more attention to himself by leaving). It slightly took the wind out of my sails. I like to make people laugh and to think and maybe to shock them into thinking about stuff, but I never want to embarrass or upset anyone.
As it turned out his friend emailed me to say that they had left because their friend was outside with their dog and had texted them to say they needed to come and collect it. It was just a strange coincidence that he had had to leave at that exact moment. It's important as a comedian not to make assumptions about people's motives. Yesterday a girl had walked out at the start of the routine about wanking off paedophiles and I thought maybe she was upset or I had touched some upon some issue that she didn't want to think about. Five minutes later she was back though. She'd just been to the loo. Most of the time when a comic might think he has offended someone there is a much more prosaic explanation. You just have to get on with the job.
The shows were fine tonight. Because they were in pub situations I think the emotional journey did not work as well as it has done recently, but I think in Edinburgh and when I'm on tour that this won't be a problem and in fact will be the thing that lifts this show above some of my recent work (not that I think the other shows weren't good, just that this one seems to have something a bit different).
The reaction I am getting and the comments and emails afterwards certainly suggest that this might be the most successful Edinburgh show for some time. But let's look back at this entry in a fortnight and see if I still feel so positive.
Wouldn't it be terrific to have a really brilliant Fringe though? As long as I don't choose to celebrate by getting so pissed that my throat seizes up completely.
I can't believe how soon I will be heading north. I start my trip on Saturday as I head up to Newcastle for my (I think sold out) Live Theatre gig. I have so much to do and yet am so lethargic.
And that Guitar Hero isn't going to play itself.
