Warming Up

I woke up at 6am even though I didn’t have to and even though I was still tired as Hell I couldn’t get back to sleep. I hate myself.

But it was going to be a travelling and parenting day so it didn’t matter too much. I did some admin and played some poker on the way home and let the sitcom drip onwards in the back of my mind. I will buckle down to it in the time I have available. Frank Cottrell-Boyce shows the power of discipline and you don’t get to be a writer if you don’t write. Especially if someone is paying you to write. 

The interview I did with the Spectator came out today and it’s largely positive (with a bit of a snarky edge). It’s a good thing to have the success of the podcast acknowledged again (even if a little sniffily) though I don’t particularly care for the review of the audience, which seems to come out of my joke about you all being men who work in IT. There is some truth in that part (though increasingly less so and the days of the queues for the gents toilet stretching round the block at the Leicester Square Theatre have gone) but whilst it has been an unexpected side effect that the podcasts have helped people through periods of loneliness, depression and suicidal thoughts, it’s a bit of a stretch to imagine that’s the whole audience. 

At the time the journalist had seemed most excited by my argument that we haven’t got to the point where you can’t say anything in comedy. Because although tastes change there is still always comedy in everything and there’s plenty of edgy comedy out there and plenty of jokes still revolve around people saying stuff that is questionable to make a satirical point (or even simply to offend). 

Also the main reason I wouldn’t do Hitler Moustache now is because of the shift in the political system and the rise of actual fascism, not because of political correctness changing comedy.

Anyway, the article is still largely positive and I am more upset about the dismissive attitude towards the listeners than the slightly superior attitude that the journalist occasionally exhibits (though to be fair he seems both impressed and annoyed by some elements). Journalist often treat me with this air of superiority, like I am someone who has somehow managed to bumble my way to a three decade long career by luck as much as judgement (to be fair, there is some truth in that nonetheless). But you don’t work for this long without talent or indeed without knowing more about comedy than a journalist would and I am surprised that lack of TV exposure is still used as a measure of lack of success. It seems to me that TV is a dying medium at least in its current form and that the potential of podcasts is still being underestimated, even though many have become phenomenally successful already. I am not including mine in this group - I am far from the king (or queen) of podcasting, but am glad I recognised its possibilities. And am hopeful that in the next year or so I will be able to expand the limits of what’s possible even further. 

I have perhaps always been a little underestimated but I have perhaps encouraged that by my own comments and to an extent welcomed it (and the article does have some understanding of this).

I am certainly proving his point about being interested in nuance and arguing with myself (who would have known that from my work?). I certainly concur that mine has been a weird and baffling career path. But one that has had no significant period where I wasn’t getting or creating work. 

Let them underestimate you. It’s better than being overestimated.

The Manchester RHLSTP on 2nd November has moved to a different venue. Ticket holders should have been notified. You can buy tickets here