There's publicity... (Socks on tour)

There's publicity, and there's publicity...



And sometimes it's a pretty unfathomable business. A glossy printed programme in St Andrews produced a small but lovely audience, Aberdeen's Lemon Tree gave us a beautiful sellout by whatever means, and then the above poster, which struggles to merit the title of poster but is the sum total of the visual elements in the promotion of the event, gave us a sellout crowd in a charity fund-raising show which was a delight, and had the added benefit of stupendous support act Iszi Lawrence. (I think I've made a note of that so that, when she's Iszi Lawrence off-of-the-TV I can point at it and say "look, she supported us! Like Russell Howard. And Miranda. And Frank Skinner. And... yes, I know we exaggerated the Frank Skinner story, but whatever, all the same, the point remains. Look, Iszi supported us. Once.")

Let's face it, the success of a comedy show, as far as bringing the audience in is concerned, is never down to just one element. Sometimes word of mouth will do the job, sometimes every possible component from posters and flyers to programme and existing audience and word of mouth, press, PR and imperceptible other things will still fall short of the target. What can I say? I'm working on it.

Talking of changing the subject, Hev & I have been using Skype while I'm on my travels. Does everyone's Skype look this crazy sometimes?



I see another artform in the making.



The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's Spring Tour: Bath April 7 • Milford Haven April 12 • Exeter April 13 • Bridlington April 14 • St Andrews April 25 • Aberdeen April 27 • Halifax May 3 • Keighley May 4 • Stafford May 5 • Chorley May 12 • Brighton May 19/20 • Hereford May 27 • Harrogate June 28/29 • Rondo Bath July 9 • Beverly Puppet Festival July 13 • Tring July 19 • Manchester July 20 • Nottingham + Guildford July 21 • Derby July 22 • Bedford July 27 • Edinburgh Fringe August 1-27. Spread the word.