After a designated day off my show, it was back on it with Black Wednesday – a day that all performers dread at the Fringe.
It has this name because it is after the two-for-one ticket offer ends on the first Monday and Tuesday of the Fringe. Wednesdays are usually the most difficult days to find an audience, because every other day of the week can be assimilated into a long weekend.
However, this thinking was once again proved wrong and the two shows on either side of me at the Kilderkin had full rooms.
I didn’t fare quite so well, but still managed about 15 people. This is still a decent turnout on the Free Fringe, especially compared with the struggles I went through last year.
The show was really good fun, getting stronger laughs as it progressed. I still need to get the material at the start stronger, or possibly move it to the middle.
A married couple at the front proved particularly good value. The husband told me that he had won several pub quizzes, but his wife hadn’t won any as he wouldn’t let her on his team. I played around with this and put them in separate teams, helping her to win the overall quiz.
Someone also said that there was a squid dance that is performed in Japan, so I got him up on stage to show people how it went.
When I was walking home last night, I thought I saw some people I recognised going into a flat on the road I’m staying. They turned out to be three of my audience from my show, who then invited me in for an aftershow party. It was the first time I had ever been invited into an audience member’s house after a gig, so that is something I can add to the list.
Four days in, my Fringe has been wildly unpredictable and all the more enjoyable because of it.