Warming Up

I was ill for the vast majority of the last run of RHLSTP at the Leicester Square Theatre, so it was just a huge relief to get to the venue and not feel like I needed a sleep. Even by the second interview I wasn’t at all weary (which sometimes happens when I am well), so that’s a bonus.

There wasn’t a big audience for tonight’s show - it might have been the smallest one we’ve had for the podcast - and we might need a rethink on where and when we do these shows. Monday used to be the perfect day as it was likely that the theatre would be available and that guests might not be working elsewhere, but now I think that people are saving their money after the weekend and maybe not coming into work on Mondays. It could be that you’ve all had enough of RHLSTP of course, which wouldn’t be surprising (we started series 27 tonight), but sales in Wells and the upcoming New Forest gigs suggest there’s an audience out there for it and the downloads remain strong. We do more live shows than most podcasts and so we’re always there in London, which means the audience might have got complacent. But luckily we’re off on tour in the autumn (details soon) so we’ll be able to test this hypothesis.

I still think it has a lot to give in a competitive market and if anything the quality is improving, so I don’t think it’s time to hang up the microphone just yet. But then I also think that stone clearing and snooker are worth persisting with so I might not be the best judge. 

Adam Rowe was one of my guests tonight and his ethos on podcasting is very impressive and has had spectacular results in just three and a bit years. Have a Word https://haveaword.page/  has 20,000+ Patreon subscribers, which is a phenomenal revenue stream, even without the sponsorship deals they have in place and they have a dedicated studio in Liverpool and big plans for expansion. What’s remarkable is that Adam and Dan Nightingale weren’t huge names beforehand (though both very good and experienced stand ups with a bit of TV under their belts) and through dedication (and being funny) they have built up a media empire where they can basically do anything they want. To have done this at a time when podcasts become super competitive (starting just a couple of months before the whole world started to podcast in lock down) is even more remarkable. Chris Evans (not that one) and me have achieved something similar, though with less planning and focus (and success), but these boys have learned from the Americans, taken the ball and run with it. It’s exciting stuff.

Adam also has free specials up on YouTube which is another great way of doing things https://www.youtube.com/@HaveAWordPod and I watched all of them today. Juicy is particularly good. I’ve always given out a lot for free online, but been a bit more protective of my stand up shows, but this is a great way to find an audience and if even a quarter of the 200,000 people who have watched Juicy for free go and see Adam’s next show then he has an extremely viable tour on his hands. It’s good for you as an audience member too because you can check someone out before buying a ticket and if you don’t like what you see you’ve saved yourself £20 and the comic doesn’t have someone looking annoyed in their eyeline.

Anyway fascinating to talk to Adam about this on and off stage and I also very much enjoyed talking to Thanyia Moore, who is a naturally very funny person who throws herself into everything she does with no fear - an actor and dancer turned comedian turned actor and writer. I saw her show about bullying back in 2019 and it’s really stuck in my mind. She was just doing a half hour version then with a plan to come back and do an hour in 2020, but the best-laid plans. She is turning it into a TV show instead.

I listened to The Warlock Effect on the way home and it’s gripping and heart-rending stuff, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Can’t wait to talk to Andy and Jeremy about it in three weeks. Hopefully there will be news soon of more guests for this run. But there are some cracking ones already. Tonight’s small audience were terrific, but it’s much more fun with lots of you! If you can’t make the shows then you watch live (or catch up on ones you missed) at gfsboxoffice.com