Diary of a Standup Comedy Bottom Feeder

I get a lot of messages from people asking my advice on where they should do their first open mic spot in London, and the answer really depends on what you want to get out of the experience. For most people your first open mic spot is all about just taking that leap and getting … Read more

I’ve been away on holiday for a couple of weeks, so I’m a bit late writing up my last gig because I couldn’t be arsed doing it before I went away. The gig was my heat of the Comedy Virgins summer competition, with the first prize being a full year of bringer-less spots at the … Read more

I did a ten minute spot at Sam Rhodes Comedy Explosion last week, gig number 98 by my reckoning. The weather was hot and I was on at the end of a long night, but despite that most people stuck around, even though the energy was flagging. I’d spent most of the night sitting at … Read more

I’ve done three great gigs since my last post, which has left me feeling pretty good about this ridiculous endeavour. First up Sam Rhodes gave me a 10 minute spot at his Comedy Explosion night. Those nights are run in the public bar area of the Cornershop Bar in Shoreditch, which means you get an … Read more

Feeling a bit more upbeat this week. The other night I did a spot at We Are Funny again, and I was worried about how it would go because, against my better judgement, I’d agreed to take a bunch of colleagues to the gig as they’d been asking about coming to watch me. I’ve been … Read more

I’ve not been up to much in terms of stand-up recently – mostly due to a busy period at work, and the ever present struggle of balancing it all with a family. I completely failed to do any spots the whole week I was in New York, but I had a scream there anyway so … Read more

I’ve done a couple of gigs this week, including a heat of the Sussex Comedian of the Year Competition. But before I get into that, on Wednesday I went to Sam Rhodes Comedy Explosion for a warm up, as I’m feeling a bit out of practice at the moment. I managed less than a minute … Read more

The monthly King Gong show at London’s Comedy Store is the city’s biggest open mic night in terms of audience size. If you’re an aspiring standup, the show offers a rare opportunity to perform at a famous venue in front of hundreds of people, but it comes at a cost. Unlike most open mics, which … Read more

I’ve done a few gigs since my last post, starting with a triumphant return to the Lion’s Den Comedy Car Crash, where I did many of my very early open mic spots. I’ve not been able to do the gig for about a year because of childcare issues, but on this particular night I found … Read more

Three gigs last week, ending with a trip to Southampton on Friday for the Manfords New Act of the Year Competition, but let’s start at the beginning. Things kicked off on Monday with a spot at We Are Funny Project, which turned out to be a small but perfectly formed night. There were a few … Read more