Community
So I'm MC'ing Jongleurs Reading this weekend and having a real blast.
The line up includes my old pals Geoff Boyz and Carey Marx who is doing some fantastic stuff at the moment, and someone new to me, Greg Davies. One of the giants of comedy, literally he's 6'8" tall! He's a real joy to watch and great fun in the dressing room.
Call it old age or senility, but when I work with someone for the first time I have to write their name on my hand so that I don't forget it when I'm introducing them, and on Thursday night I did just that with Greg. Last night I was a bit cocky, after all once you've seen Greg you're hardly likely to forget him!
So I'd had a ramble, got to know a bit about the audience and done the big build up before bringing him on, and just at that crucial moment, I forgot his bloody surname! There is a group of people in Berkshire who will forever think of him as Greg Yayyyyyy! Not taking any chances tonight.. I shall tattoo his name on the inside of my eyelids.
Greg and Carey buggered off as soon as they'd finished, Greg had a hot date and Carey had another gig, so it was just Geoff and I standing on Reading Station for the train back to Paddington. We were in the middle of a conversation when I spotted a face that in the last few years I've only seen on those 100 Greatest things or on MySpace, Robin Ince.
I genuinely cannot remember the last time we worked together but I remember loving what he did. Since those days he's earned a great reputation as a writer and performer, supporting his pal Ricky Gervais on tour, and carving his own niche in the wild world of comedy. He was closely followed by another blast from the past, Peter Buckley Hill, who again I haven't seen in aeons. They'd been doing their Book Club which is a mix of sketches, stand-up and general funny stuff at the arts centre.
As the London train pulled in, lovely Johnny Candon turned up too, and suddenly we were a gang. The journey home was brilliant with lots of catching up, debate on the Jongleurs vs rest of the circuit type chats, with the exception of Johnny who was "resting his eyes".
Before we knew it, the train was pulling into Paddington. It's nights like this that I am reminded of one of the many reasons why I love doing stand-up. It is by nature a very solitary path, but when we all get together it's a real community.
The line up includes my old pals Geoff Boyz and Carey Marx who is doing some fantastic stuff at the moment, and someone new to me, Greg Davies. One of the giants of comedy, literally he's 6'8" tall! He's a real joy to watch and great fun in the dressing room.
Call it old age or senility, but when I work with someone for the first time I have to write their name on my hand so that I don't forget it when I'm introducing them, and on Thursday night I did just that with Greg. Last night I was a bit cocky, after all once you've seen Greg you're hardly likely to forget him!
So I'd had a ramble, got to know a bit about the audience and done the big build up before bringing him on, and just at that crucial moment, I forgot his bloody surname! There is a group of people in Berkshire who will forever think of him as Greg Yayyyyyy! Not taking any chances tonight.. I shall tattoo his name on the inside of my eyelids.
Greg and Carey buggered off as soon as they'd finished, Greg had a hot date and Carey had another gig, so it was just Geoff and I standing on Reading Station for the train back to Paddington. We were in the middle of a conversation when I spotted a face that in the last few years I've only seen on those 100 Greatest things or on MySpace, Robin Ince.
I genuinely cannot remember the last time we worked together but I remember loving what he did. Since those days he's earned a great reputation as a writer and performer, supporting his pal Ricky Gervais on tour, and carving his own niche in the wild world of comedy. He was closely followed by another blast from the past, Peter Buckley Hill, who again I haven't seen in aeons. They'd been doing their Book Club which is a mix of sketches, stand-up and general funny stuff at the arts centre.
As the London train pulled in, lovely Johnny Candon turned up too, and suddenly we were a gang. The journey home was brilliant with lots of catching up, debate on the Jongleurs vs rest of the circuit type chats, with the exception of Johnny who was "resting his eyes".
Before we knew it, the train was pulling into Paddington. It's nights like this that I am reminded of one of the many reasons why I love doing stand-up. It is by nature a very solitary path, but when we all get together it's a real community.
posted by JoJo Smith at Saturday, June 24, 2006
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