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It was a day off today, but as I was up early with the baby I decided to get a jump on next week's old material learning, by listening to menage a un as I fed and played with Phoebe. It's a much darker show than I remembered and also another one that is much too long for the slot I've got to do it in. But it will be tough to work out what to lose. Because most of the length is in the nihilistic end of the show where the action gets taken over by two angry old men on a bonfire, annoyed that they are the punchline to a weak joke, angry with their creator and wanting to sabotage him and his life. And then I get in on the act by satirising my own lechery and sadness at the break-up of my most recent relationship and seem determined to ensure that no one ever wants to sleep with me again. It's fascinating and uncomfortable listening and reminded me at times of Andrew Lawrence, in that it's a privileged man trying to work out why things haven't gone his way and lashing out at everyone. But it does something that Lawrence is failing to do (at least in his public pronouncements - I haven't seen his show) and lashes out mostly at myself.
I was pretty lonely during that tour I recall, but I seem deliberately to want to ensure that that continues. And I am confused (on stage) about whether the character I am letting out bears any relation to the real me. I don't think it does. I wasn't really angry with my ex-girlfriend as we'd broken up on good and pretty much mutual terms. So I was exploring and mocking the more priapic comedians at the time, whilst acknowledging that I was far from virtuous myself - though as always largely too self-conscious to allow myself to throw myself into the unthinking debauchery that I possibly coveted.
I'd remembered this show as quite straight stand up, but it's another challenging show for the audience member and to be honest I am quite surprised that I managed to hold on to any of my regular crowd. Though I know many of you actually preferred this rawer and more out of control version of me. And I suppose you all understood that I was being a character. It's a difficult tightrope to cross though. And it would be much harder to do in the post-Twitter world. Anyway, goodness knows how I am going cut this show down. There's a lot of really good stand up in it which it would be a pity to cut and the old people bit became more and more self-indulgent throughout the tour (and maybe I have tested patience enough with magpies and yoghurt). I will find a way I am sure, but as usual I am a bit bamboozled by my younger self and less surprised that my career has not had the mainstream success of some of my contemporaries! Book here to see how this visit to the ghosts of my past goes down.
This man off of a band called The Radioheads is very nice about me in the Observer today. I don't know much about music and it is a tough business to make it in, but I wish him and his pals good luck with making it. From their name they sound like a lot of fun, though a bit derivative of the Tellytubbies perhaps (I might have gone with the Internetheads, rather than the more reactionary radio heads, shame they didn't ask me).
The kickstarter campaign got off to a fast start, but has now stalled a little bit. It will be interesting to see if we make it. Still a lot of time to go, but an awful lot to raise. I'd love to see it working with everyone giving a quid, but realisitically we need 1500 people to give a bit more. Fingers crossed.
