I had two previews on Sunday in the same room, a few hours apart. This is not the first time I’ve done this with HTWAPQ. I also did it in Dunedin, where I added a second show due to overwhelming demand for the first – only to have about nine people in and one very annoying drunk man on his own at the front.
Popular demand was not an issue on Sunday. I had a mostly full room and a not-so-full room, thankfully with no annoying drunk man at either show. But it was ideal preparation for what can happen at Edinburgh Fringe.
In scenes reminiscent of Tunbridge Wells at the first show, ten people again bought tickets, but only six of them actually showed up. The show also turned out to be good fun. In fact, it was much more enjoyable than the show I did later on.
The small room was filled with about 19 people. But too much material that worked in the earlier show fell flat in the later one. This is what epitomises Edinburgh Fringe. You can perform the same material in the same venue every day, but the audience goes for it at one show and doesn’t at the next.
As has happened many times over the years, the audience interaction is what pulled everything through. Regardless, it was not exactly how I wanted my penultimate preview to go. This may end up being a good thing, as thinking you’re ready is one of the worst things you can think when you’re starting Edinburgh Fringe. You won’t ever be truly ready for it. It’s also made me think harder about the set, what bits I can add, and what I can maybe drop.
I have my final preview in Shaftesbury on Sunday. Then one week today, I will be boarding the sleeper train up to Edinburgh.