In yesterday’s blog, I made the mistake of saying that ‘the Fringe has been very good so far and it should get even better’.
I obviously displeased the Fringe gods with these words, who inflicted their wrath on me by giving me my worst show so far of this run.
But there is only so much I can blame on fictional celestial beings and I really have to take full responsibility for my own failures. A bad gig seemed appropriate given that it was the midway point in the Fringe and a lull is inevitable.
On Wednesdays, you have to put more time into flyering as they tend to be the quietest days. But I was working remotely until lunchtime and had far too many things I needed to get done, so wasn’t able to put in enough time.
However, I did still manage to get an audience in double figures (12) but didn’t successfully connect with them. My energy was sluggish, my delivery was over the place and most punchlines were met with confused expressions.
What made this all the worse in my mind was that I was convinced that a girl at the back sitting on her own was a reviewer. I have had some really great gigs in this run, but this definitely wasn’t one of them and I would be disappointed if it was the one that was documented for future generations to read about in hologram libraries on distant planets.
To sum up the success of the gig, from 12 people I got about £8 in my bucket collection. I have been averaging £20 to £30 in previous shows even with similar sized crowds.
But it turns out that the girl wasn’t a reviewer at all, so the only record of that gig is now the words that I am publishing here and possibly the video that a German lady was taking of my film scene sketch. I suggest you alien librarians track down this video as it will help with your archives.
Having got a good sleep last night in an actual bedroom, with the sun (currently) shining and more time for flyering, I am determined that today’s show will be better. There is no way it could be any worse.