I have put this off long enough, so almost two weeks after returning from Edinburgh it is time to give my review of my 2014 Fringe.
It is safe to say that it was my favourite Fringe to date. I had so much fun doing the show and the feedback I had from my audiences was overwhelmingly positive. It went much better than ever thought it would. My show certainly wasn’t perfect, but it was a blast nonetheless.
At the start of the Fringe, if you’d told me that I would have audiences in double figures every day then I would have been delighted regardless of how well the shows went. The fact that the vast majority of the shows went well is massively pleasing. Out of 19 shows, there was only one show I would consider to be a total dud. It was also a shame that my final show was a letdown, but I had nothing left to give after using up all my energy reserves. And from a run of 19, to have two dodgy shows and 17 decent, good or great ones isn’t such a bad return.
What made the run all the sweeter was because I was in exactly the same venue and an almost identical time-slot as last year, when it was a real struggle to get people along. Some days in 2013 really hurt, although not as badly as 2011.
I still have much to learn and a long way to go, but I have now performed a solo hour show. I also know the level I can perform at and need to make that my standard. Because if I can, then I believe that’s when things will start taking off.
I am not disappointed about not getting any published reviews (that I’m aware of), because I don’t do the Fringe to be reviewed. I do the Fringe to improve as a comic, and put on a show that I enjoy doing and hope that the audience also enjoy. For these reasons, I consider my 2014 to be a big success.
And I suppose I did get a fairly glowing review from Kate Copstick in a showcase that I can use to impress promoters.
I was sad for the Fringe to end this year. In previous years, it has been a relief for my show to finish. But with this show, I feel there is much more than I get out of it. In fact, there is a load of material that I had to scrap because I didn’t have time for. Well, that and some of it was utterly rubbish.
I have a format on my hands that really works and one that people not only want to see, but also enjoy. I would be foolish to drop it and move onto something else. And technically, as far as the official Fringe listings go, I haven’t even performed this show.
So my provisional plan next year is to take up a refined show and put it in the main programme. It will be entitled How To Win A Pub Quiz II: Advanced Edition. You heard it here first, although I don’t know where else you’d expect to hear it.