And we're off

In time-honoured fashion, my first show did not go entirely without a hitch. There was a fire alarm in the venue earlier in the day (caused by a smoke machine apparently - idiot technology that can't distinguish between real smoke and theatrical smoke!) which meant that my show was delayed by about twenty minutes. Not the best start.

The venue was also incredibly warm. I was sort of expecting this, as it tends to be the case across all venues in Edinburgh, but it was still strange and uncomfortable performing in a sauna-like atmosphere for the first time in a while. I'm sure I'll get more used to it, and the nice venue staff are sorting out some extra fans and stuff, so I think things will probably improve as the run continues.

The show itself was ok. Not amazing but fine. I had quite a few people in, but I think most of them were the result of "papering the house". This is a theatrical term that sounds like the kind of thing you do whilst redecorating a new property, but is in fact just giving away free tickets to bulk up an audience. Most shows do this for the first two or three performances; once the weekend starts you shouldn't need to anymore. Famous last words.

I didn't start brilliantly because I was a bit thrown by the delayed start and the heat and felt like I needed to talk about them at the start. It was a bit stupid, because I just sounded like I was apologising before I'd done anything. Once I got back on track with the show things improved and I was reasonably happy with it. Some bits worked better than others, and I fluffed the odd line and got a couple of things in the wrong order, but that's to be expected for a first show, particularly considering that I haven't done a preview for a week. So overall I think it was a decent start with a few things to work on for tonight.

The weirdest thing was getting used to the fact that it's just me in the show. None of my "people" (promoter, director etc) could make it to the first night so afterwards I just said thanks to the venue staff and walked outside, feeling strangely anticlimactic. I'm so used to doing shows in Edinburgh with other people, when you can immediately dissect the show, discuss what went well and badly, whether it was a weird crowd etc. I just wandered around for a few minutes before heading over to the Pleasance Courtyard to meet some friends. A very odd feeling. I think I've got some people I know coming to the show tonight, so at least I'll be able to discuss it with them afterwards. Also I believe that I have my first reviewer in, so with any luck it'll be a bit tighter and, crucially, on time.

Or I might have to sabotage the smoke machine...

It begins

In the last 24 hours I have encountered the following things:

- Freezing mist
- Blazing sunshine
- Torrential rain
- Roadworks
- A bus being towed by a truck
- A shop that only sells booze and one carton of orange juice
- Comedians with brittle smiles but still strong voices
- My venue technicians
- My venue
- My face on posters

I must be in Edinburgh.

I have yet to encounter the following things:

- Audiences
- Reviewers
- Flyers
- Flyerers
- Beer
- Really rubbish food
- More beer
- Comedians with destroyed voices and dreams
- Fruit

That is all still to come. Except perhaps the last one.

Here we go...!