As weird gigs go, this was right up there. The Socks performed a 20 minute set on the concourse outside Edinburgh airport. It was a fun experience, and makes a nice little video clip, but as for putting bums on seats I can't imagine it'll do much. As Hev realised as she, very kindly, handed out flyers to the few people who were sitting round watching, as opposed to rushing to catch the tram, the only people who wait around outside an airport are people who are about to fly away. If you've arrived in Edinburgh, you're not going to stop and watch a comedy show.
But we got some nice laughter from a cluster of staff who came and formed an audience, and it was great fun on a sunny day. Daft, I know, but we could be tempted to do it again. Maybe if we could time our 20 minute slot to precisely coincide with the moment the main flight from Heathrow delivers the delegates for the TV festival. Yes, that should be easy enough to time. (Not only will we not be the first to have thought of this, but the chances of them emerging from the baggage carousel during your 20 minute window are infinitesimal. Don't think that's going to put us off.)
Oh yeah, and we lost another eyeball, the third in three days. This time it was Sock on the left again. I don't know what it is with these eyeballs, they're made of the same stuff they've been for the last couple of years (a polystyrene concoction, which doesn't get water damaged as much as the papier mache eyeballs we've had before), though I do recall we lost one eyeball during an Edinburgh show last year, so they are more vulnerable. Maybe a return to papier mache is on the cards.
The family's here. Jude, Doug, Shona and Kirsty have hit town for a week, and we met up with them for the first time today. We'll be seeing more of them across the week, but in the brief time we had together Shona & Kirsty helped me use Instagram (about which I am clueless) and Shona even tried flyering, but found it less fun than I do. I then went off and flyered, as is my wont.
And we had a sellout. First one of the season, all 60 tickets sold by the start of the show. It was a sweaty one, though the room is getting cooler (slightly) as we master techniques of keeping the doors open through the changeovers etc. And the audience were great. Though the act who comes in after me, Zach Zimmerman, overheard one of my punters saying "That got dark", so I'm intrigued to see if that's a widespread feeling, and whether that's good or bad.
The show of two halves is now something I'm quite happy with, though I'm aware that if they're laughing at the first half, which is all sketches, they fall a bit more silent in the character comedy that follows. I'm punching up the comedy in the second half and it's developing organically. If we ever get a reviewer, we'll find out how much I'm deluding myself about the adequacy of our show.
Yeah, we didn't get a photo of the Sold Out board last night (don't know if there even is one at Patter Hoose, I'll have to check), so here's one we took last year.
PS: The Improv bit. I must remember to keep note of what act the audience ask us to improv every night. On Friday it was Human Cannonball (excellent, fresh adlib with striking matches and length of time it took to light blue touch paper); Thursday was Lion Taming, which we did without the "Cher" ending that we've used before (started as a genuine adlib, less good when it comes back reheated) and got great laughs from the "radge" lion; Wednesday I can't remember, but I bet it was brilliant.
Until August 25th, The Scottish Falsetto Socks ROLL UP! at the Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose 9.30pm, every night of the Edinburgh Fringe 2019. Sexy new venue, sexy new timeslot. Book now!
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