Tuesday 16th May 2017

Popped into the office for a bit, got some stuff done. The murder mystery show feels very in the balance at the moment after *that* night a few weeks back, so looks like I may have a few gaps in my schedule coming up...they need filling, quickly.

Have been thinking long and hard about what I want to achieve with the whole 'Will...' character, and I've realised - it can be totally whatever I want it to be. I've struggled to find a fringe actress for this one (I've had offers from a few willing to come up but let's be honest - it's on at midday in a venue nobody can find, I'd hate to drag someone through that for 3 weeks), but then I had a masterstroke of how it can work as a solo show...I'm really, really excited about it now. I nearly jumped out of my chair with happiness when it all clicked, and this can be what I want it to be.

Spent a bit of time working out structure the of the live version, whilst waiting patiently for the actress to get back to me about filming for next week. The sitcom version is dragging on longer than I'd like, but it's not even been 2 weeks. Calm down, Richards.

Evening had a professional stand-up gig in Cambridge. A lovely evening; it sounds obvious but I like these 'professional' gigs, a lot more than the new material/open-mic shows where I try out new bits.

True, so I have to play it very safe and do my 'tight ten' but the attitude is just different. For example, as the audience have paid (a tenner?) to get in they want to enjoy it more, they have invested in it. As performers it's really, really different too - unlike some other comedy shows I've been to, with the proper professional gigs all of the comics support each other from the side during our sets, and before/after in the small cupboard of a dressing room. We all know our ten minutes is good, we don't have to worry about that, there's a sense that comedians support other comedians no matter what - we're all on the same team. There was a lot of handshakes and hi-fives tonight, I feel totally accepted around these people.

It's a joyous thing, I've only done three of these this year but they're the easiest gigs in the world; they sell out, they pay well, you get food, you get drink, you make friends with other people who are totally as insecure as you are. It's all rather wonderful. Went down a storm and barely broke into a sweat. Great night, that was.