The Battersea Arts Centre audience looked like they were going to be difficult. For the first couple of minutes they seemed reluctant to laugh, unsure of what they were going to get. I felt maybe some of the crowd had prejudged the show, had almost come to have their expectations confirmed. Its going to be laddish and misogynist. Of course I cant be sure they were thinking that, Im not a mind reader. Maybe they were just cold. But thats how it felt.
My early lazy lesbians joke got a big laugh, but also a couple of loud tuts, which seemed to confirm my fears.(I have to apologise, the shows changing every day, so I will be reading some of the stuff off these bits of card. But I went to see the Vagina Monologues the other day and theyre still reading it off bits of card after seven years! Lazy Lesbians) When I wrote the show I had initially feared that people might be offended by that line. I hadnt intended to do it in the proper show, it was just a way of excusing the fact that I still hadnt learnt some bits, but people really liked it and I think also understood where the joke was coming from, so I kept it in.
Things warmed up very quickly, but I feel some people were still a bit unsure about which way the show was going. In the penis envy bit, where I ask the men in the audience who is to blame for the peniss bad reputation (given that it was once so loved) and start to imply that maybe women are responsible. Tonight the voice of a female European (I think she was French) said Zats right. Ze women are always to blame. I did an impression of her accent and said Yep, either women or foreigners, one of the two. But again, the audience were suspicious of my motives.
Whats nice about that bit of the show is that I turn that implication on its head and then clearly state that penis envy is a ridiculous concept and that the way men feel about themselves and their penises has nothing to do with women.
From then on in I felt the resistance was gone. The worried members of the audience relaxed as they realised I wasnt out for a war between the sexes or their genitals and it was a really good gig.
Im on there again next week. Do come along and tut if you want!
