Rainham, Again
I headed back to Rainham last night for the Joker's Joker of the Year competition final. My 7th and definitely last competition final ended much like the previous six, in bitter bitter defeat. So close and yet so far from glory, I'm like Spurs or something.
The crowd consisted of something like 15 punters, 10 judges/people otherwise connected with the competition and 14 acts. It was once again held in The Phoenix, a nice pub with a spacious beer garden but largely unsuitable for stand-up comedy. The noise bleeding in from the regulars on the other side of the bar remained an issue, particularly in the second half. I went on second in the first half and honestly felt as though I did the best I could. But I couldn't rouse the crowd.
It wasn't a complete death and listening back to my recording, I heard a smattering of laughter from various sections of the room. But "smattering" is not a word one wishes to apply to a stand-up comedy performance. The more mainstream comedians won the day, with Jimmy O's well honed old school club comic schtick probably being the most effective. He ultimately came second to Joshua Robertson with Emmanuel Sonubi in third.
The whole affair rather left me feeling like I was a square peg in a round hole. It's sometimes difficult to see where I fit in in the stand-up landscape. I know there's an audience for what I do, but there are occasions where it's difficult to pinpoint precisely where that audience is. Crowds in rural areas have struggling to warm to me in the past, while I'm unlikely to attract the attentions of the London based alternative crowd (Invisible Dot and the like). It was another night that left me reflecting on my limitations as an act. But for the moment, I'll do what I've always done. Get up and go again.
The crowd consisted of something like 15 punters, 10 judges/people otherwise connected with the competition and 14 acts. It was once again held in The Phoenix, a nice pub with a spacious beer garden but largely unsuitable for stand-up comedy. The noise bleeding in from the regulars on the other side of the bar remained an issue, particularly in the second half. I went on second in the first half and honestly felt as though I did the best I could. But I couldn't rouse the crowd.
It wasn't a complete death and listening back to my recording, I heard a smattering of laughter from various sections of the room. But "smattering" is not a word one wishes to apply to a stand-up comedy performance. The more mainstream comedians won the day, with Jimmy O's well honed old school club comic schtick probably being the most effective. He ultimately came second to Joshua Robertson with Emmanuel Sonubi in third.
The whole affair rather left me feeling like I was a square peg in a round hole. It's sometimes difficult to see where I fit in in the stand-up landscape. I know there's an audience for what I do, but there are occasions where it's difficult to pinpoint precisely where that audience is. Crowds in rural areas have struggling to warm to me in the past, while I'm unlikely to attract the attentions of the London based alternative crowd (Invisible Dot and the like). It was another night that left me reflecting on my limitations as an act. But for the moment, I'll do what I've always done. Get up and go again.
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