I have a fairly gruelling schedule over the next few days. Next Friday and Saturday I will do four gigs in 26 hours, the two on Saturday being 280 miles away from each other. Today I woke up in Peterborough after having MCed the evening session of the Levity Festival last night and had to drive to the Latitude festival for a 12.30pm slot, before then driving back to London for a preview at Pleasance London. Eric Liddell would not be pleased with me. I wouldn't like to do this kind of thing every day, but I enjoyed the adventure today.
The Peterborough gig had started OK, but been tough in the end, only because I was MCing and increasingly the audience took my appearance as an excuse to chat. This is often they way with this job: people don't view you as a proper comedian, just someone filling in whilst you wait for the next act. Even one of the crew made the archetypal comment (infuriating to all MCs) that the stuff I'd done was so good that he'd have liked to see me doing a set. Like maybe one day if I stuck at this I could become an actual comedian.
Luckily the Latitude gig was the total opposite. Last night I felt weak in the face of insurmountable odds, but this lunchtime I was in control. The comedy tent packed with at least a couple of thousand people, who listened and laughed at the material that the people of Peterborough had talked over. I tried the "Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" routine for the first time without a crib sheet and pretty much got through it OK. Though at the end had to admit, "This routine has a punchline which is a call back to a piece of material that I haven't done". But that still got a big laugh. And I always love doing the sexcrement bit when the front row is mainly comprised of children.
I only had time to walk up to the performers area to pick up my free lunch before having to leave what looked like a fabulous festival behind. But even in the couple of hours I was there I bumped into lots of friends and had a brief chat with Eddie Izzard (who I am hoping will be a guest on RHLSTP if I can find a moment where he isn't running a Marathon). He remembered seeing me and Stew do an early gig together in the 90s, though I don't think recalled me doing a mediocre open spot at the club he ran in Soho in 1990. All I remember about it is some vague memory of sharing a dressing room with some strippers, but I might just have imagined that.
I have never got Latitude quite right. Three years ago I was recovering from being sick on my own diarrhea, two years ago, planning to stay for the weekend, I got pissed off by noisy campers and went home and today I only had time to do my set, eat come Swedish hot dogs and see a tiny bit of comedy and it was time to leave. I would have loved to hang out with the cool comedians (and the uncool ones) for a bit longer and maybe seen some bands. But I had been booked very late this year and Peterborough and the Pleasance London were already in my diary and so this fleeting visit was all that I was allowed. It's probably for the best, if I'd been there for three hours I would probably have shouted at some youngsters from making noise during my afternoon nap.
I gave a couple of comics a lift and we had a fun and funny road trip and the time passed quickly. We talked about life, love and comedy. Jamie Kilstein (who is an excellent human being) discussed the model by which his and Alison Kilkenny's Citizen Radio is funded. They are both excellent examples of people making their own way on the internet, free from corporate sponsorship, safe from being fired, able to discuss whatever they want. Listen in and subscribe if you can afford to!
I was in North London in good time for the evening gig, but did not have enough time to go home, so sat in the restaurant next to the Pleasance and did a bit of work on my show and next week's Metro article. I was surprised that I still had energy left, but tiredness only hit me once I was home and getting into bed, when I did feel a little bit light-headed. I am going to need this stamina to get through the Fringe. I hope I can stay fit and focused.
The Hamlet bit, annoyingly, is really working well, which means I have to seriously think about how the show ends and what other stuff I am going to cut. There's a little bit of flab still, but even though the audience had to fight against the heat tonight I think it's looking pretty good. Book your tickets for Edinburgh here.
Greg Proops (amongst others) added to the RHEFP line-up. Book your tickets here.
