Back on stage, and back on the flipchart

The Socks made their return to the live stage this week! Their first stage gig since they played a birthday party in Margate in February 2020, the Socks headlined Widcombe Social Club in Bath, on a bill with Danny Buckler and Mandy Muden, and Chelsea Birkby. Haven't seen Danny and Mandy since they were in the 2002 Edinburgh Sitcom Trials performing, as Danny remembered and I'd long forgotten, I See Dead People, written by Jovanka Steele. But I digress. Mandy was en route to another gig that Danny was driving her to, so she grabbed 5 minutes extra stage time by warming up the show and introducing him.

The Socks did a 25 minute headline set and it went brilliantly. Getting good laughs from crowd work to begin with, then giving them I'm A Sock, An Actor Prepare, Earth Song, Magic, and ending with Walk On The Wild Side. A joy to do. Biggest thanks to Nick Steel for giving us the perfect comeback gig after a year on Zoom.

To be strictly accurate, Friday in Bath wasn't the Socks very first live gig. By way of a warm up, we played a 10 minute sat an an open mic night at Cloak & Dagger in Bristol on Wednesday. A very different environment from Widcombe Social Club, this was a mixed night including music and poetry, without an MC, and we opened the night cold, in broad daylight, at 8pm, to a room of about fifteen people. But we got away with it, getting great laughs from the Magic routine, and passable response to the rest of what we did. 

I didn't bring any music with me, just stand-up material, so it was flatter with less impact than we usually have. I think I was echoing the simplicity of the many Zoom open mics we've done this year, where our pure talking heads made all the impression that was needed. I realise that, live, so many of our routines benefit from the musical punchline, so I won't be doing 'musicless' Socks appearances again in a hurry. Also 5 minutes on Zoom is a lot shorter than 5 minutes in real life where you become very aware if you've not heard a laugh for ten seconds. Which is what it's all about, and why I needed to break myself in with a warm up gig like this. It really helped prepare for Friday's headline slot in Bath.

In the same weekend that the Socks returned to the stage, I returned to the flipchart, giving my first public Comic Art Masterclass (outside of a school) since March 2020 (that was at Baldock Arts Centre, now you're asking). And it was easy to get to, being in Clevedon.

As part of Clevedon Literary Festival, I did a sold out masterclass to 30 kids, in the Princes Hall bar, after which I unfurled my new pop-up banner for the first time and sat behind a table with my books and comics. I sold out of Captain Clevedons, and came within one copy of running out of the Prince Of Denmark Streets I'd brought with me, ending up selling a satisfying £130 worth of my work. My iZettle card reader got its first use in two years, proving dizzyingly simple to use. Bring on those comic conventions, I'm ready for you all!

On the flipchart I wheeled out a new version of Captain Clevedon, which is how I envisage her looking if I ever get round to producing a second issue. I'm not sure the "mankini" costume, that I originally designed way back in 1994,  looks any less dodgy on a female figure than a male. Also, though CC did a roaring trade and sold out in Clevedon, I doubt it'll do similar business anywhere else on the planet!

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who, and graphic novels adapted from Shakespeare, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here.  He is the host of the podcast Comic Cuts The Panel Show.