Every day, audiences throw several different things my way. A few shows in, I was several people short of a full room. So, on a whim, as I had time, I decided to add a new bit to the quiz where teams could win a bonus point if they could tell me an interesting fact.
It was an idea I had several years ago but never tried out. It has quickly become one of the most fun bits of the show and audiences through some genuinely weird stuff my way. The other day, I lady said her interesting fact was that she could do an impression of an alarm. So, I said: “Go on, then”. So, she proceeded to make a high-pitched noise and hit her throat rhythmically.
It is another thing that takes the show back to its chaotic and unpredictable roots. In my first run in 2014, someone mentioned there was a squid festival in Japan where they had a special dance. So, when the music round started, I invited him on stage to demonstrate the squid dance. And he did.
Ten years since I started doing the show, I am still finding new and fun avenues to explore. After a bit of juddery start to the run this year, I feel I have found my groove and it is possibly as much as the show has ever been.
In the last entry, I wrote how I was getting a little anxious about the relatively low sales figures for my extra show. I had about 30 in, which was about ten people higher than some of the quieter late-night shows I did at the same venue in 2019. The audience at the late show were also much more receptive than the one I had in the afternoon when the hot temperatures outside and inside subdued the energy somewhat.
I have also been reminded that today marks 14 years since I did my first-ever gig in Edinburgh. I would like to say I have come a long way in that time. But 14 years on, I am again staying in Musselburgh, as I was all those years ago. That naïve 26-year-old me has a lot of Fringe trauma ahead of him, mainly in the following year. But he’s going to be alright.
I am now officially on holiday from the day job. So, can catch-up on sleep a bit over the next week a bit and maybe even have the change to enjoy the Fringe a bit more.