Today marks the fourth and final show of the Fringe and exactly three weeks since this nonsense all began. I had a great audience, who were very lively and keen to get involved – a little too keen at times, in fact.
One of the main challenges this year has been keeping the show within an hour. I used to know exactly how long I had for the sections of the show and could pace everything nicely, or even give a bit more time to certain things if we had it available.
But now that I am opening the floor up for around 15 teams to give me an interesting fact, it has been more challenging to stick within the hour slot. I’ve managed to do shows shorter than an hour a few times. But more often than not, they have gone a minute or three over time – something I would find hugely irritating if I had to follow. Fortunately, all the acts on after me have been understanding and mostly fine about it. Still, it is not a good habit to get into.
Today, I had sold 49 out of 50 tickets but had about six empty seats. I can live with that though, as I still have their money, even if it’s odd playing what should be a near-full room and having most of the front row empty.
I am agonisingly close to achieving official sold-out status. If I sell the remaining tickets and a few other factors work in my favour, then I those precious JPEGs will be mine. I would say it’s squeaky bum time, but then that is a permanent feature with these stupid genes I have. Even if I don’t manage to sell them all, I am still grateful for having had a great Fringe when many struggled.