Last show of the run tonight and it was another good one - didn't manage a sell out but it was a lot closer tonight and it was a satisfying end.
I like to wait backstage for the ten minutes before the show begins, trying to get into the right frame of mind and taking in the sounds as the audience drift in. Sometimes I can manage to find a place to look at them, attempting to get a flavour of what they might be like, or spot likely candidates to address in certain sections of the act or just to have a view of the beast that I am about to face.
Due to a new set that has been put in at the theatre (I am presuming for the forthcoming production of Alex) it has been almost impossible to see anyone this week, though I was pleased to see there were people sitting on the little spur on the Circle, which meant that things had sold well. I could see a girl with pink hair tonight. I presume it wasn't natural.
The music that I choose for audience walk-in is always an important part of this warming up process. Night after night hearing the same songs helps to add to the sense of familiarity and getting into focus and of course I get to know the songs well. In Edinburgh the CD never got beyond Pink's "Let's Get The Party Started", but generally at the Arts, by the time I am backstage it has reached
Kirsty MacColl's "Soho Square", a sweet and haunting song about the singer being stood up on her birthday. It's made more poignant, of course, not only because Soho Square is just a stone's throw away, but also by the singer's untimely death, especially as growing old and dying both feature in the lyrics. It's unsettling the way that the death of an artist can alter the way you perceive their work, but MacColl's death was so untimely and unlucky that it is hard not to feel sad when listening to her music, but fondness for the singer always shines through. It's appropriately bitter-sweet for the show that follows I think. I have been very pleased with the way that the serious and the humorous and the stupid and the sad have blended in this show. I think it's certainly turned out to be my best stand up show, which is quite a surprise to me, given how quickly I had to put it together. People seem to like it though. I am touring it in the Spring, probably, so hopefully you will get a chance to see it if you haven't already. Or if you live in Brighton or Manchester you can see it next month. Check the gig guide for details. And there are still limited tickets left for the Lyric Hammersmith gig on Sunday night, which I am really looking forward to, despite not being very prepared as yet. I think I can rely on the skills of Robin Ince, Lucy Porter, Simon Munnery and Will Smith to make it a terrific night.
