Amazing scenes at a gig I did earlier this week. I walked into the basement venue and found it empty apart from one comedian and her friend. When I asked about the gig I was supposed to be doing, she told me that the room had been double-booked and she was doing a preview of her show there. She was annoyed that people kept coming down and asking about the other gig, and told me that I would need to pay £5 to stay and watch her show.

I found a dozen comics standing upstairs in disarray. The MC apparently suggested to the basement-occupying comedian that we could all watch her do her 45 minute show and then we could use the room afterwards, and was told that we could be her audience but we would all need to pay £5.

Instead we did the gig in the pub garden, although not before she had come up and informed everyone that comedy was starting downstairs, to no response. She didn’t mention the £5 at that point. I think she did her preview to an empty room.

One song to the tune of another

Darrel Maclaine, the guy who had a meltdown over his wrong opinion that joke theft is OK and that the niche BBC2 act Stewart Lee criticising megafamous Royal Variety Performance star Joe Pasquale for stealing jokes was somehow “bullying”, is back at it again with a new wrong opinion.

Apparently Warner cancelling a Batgirl movie that was supposed to be released in theatres proves that subscriptions “don’t work”.

Netflix takes in US$29.7 billion a year. Cum Town makes £93,806 a month through Patreon. Subscriptions might be affecting what kind of shows and movies get made, but they obviously do work.

I think Darrell’s doing that grift where you post the stupidest opinion imaginable and then when people disagree or mock you, you complain that you’re the victim of Nazi trolls and ask for money. I should just ignore him.

My gig dates for August

Lots of stuff here, but don’t forget that after this are my recommended links, plus news of an exciting and exclusive workshop for comedians.

Monday August 8th 7:30pm - Pegasus Comedy, Kentish Town

Same venue as Sunday Shtick, but with the chairs arranged differently. Why not come to both nights and compare?

Rose & Crown, 71-73 Torriano Ave, London NW5 2SG

Tuesday August 9th - Secret Comedy Club, BRIGHTON

Intimate room, with a cafe above where you can watch and listen to me on a screen. Time it right and I will never know you were there, watching… watching…

https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Brighton/Artista-Cafe-And-Gallery/See-You-Next-Tuesday/36107515/

Artista, 42 Waterloo St, Hove BN3 1AY

Edinburgh dates

Wednesday August 17th 10:15pm - Roast Battle Edinburgh

See me doing mean-spirited insult comedy, the only thing I’m good at. £5 (pay what you can).

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/roast-battle-edinburgh

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 139 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JS

Thursday August 18th 10:50pm - Late Night With Mr Spooky

I’ll be performing as some version of Dracula, being interviewed by Mr Spooky (Joseph Murphy), alongside a lineup of other comedians pretending to be horror-related characters or personalities. Free.

https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/late-night-with-mr-spooky-2/

OMNi Centre, Greenside Row, Edinburgh EH1 3AU

Friday August 19th 6pm - Broke Comedians Performing For Free

Vash Pernikar’s self-explanatory compilation show. I’ll be doing 10 minutes.

https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/broke-comedians-performing-for-free-2/

Royal Mile Tavern annexe (venue RMT), 127 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1SG

Monday August 22nd

7:30pm - Doing Bits At The Three Sisters During Edinburgh Fringe

https://the-three-sisters.designmynight.com/62d55733e872c920b61e6f7a/doing-bits

The Three Sisters, 139 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1JS

10:30pm - Roast Battle Edinburgh

As Weds 17th.

Tuesday August 23rd 12:15am - Hate N Live

Very excited to be doing this show created by Leo Kearse and Darius Davies where the audience suggests things and the comics have to improvise about why they hate those things. Billed as “Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Room 101”. £5.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/hate-n-live

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 39 Cowgate, EH1 1JS

Friday August 26th

6pm - Broke Comedians Performing For Free

As Fri 19th.

10:50pm - Late Night With Mr Spooky

As Thu 18th.

Back in London

Tuesday August 30th 8pm - Vauxhall Comedy Club

I get to do this because I beat a gong show. Not in Edinburgh.

Vauxhall Comedy Club, 6 S Lambeth Pl, London SW8 1SP

Spicy link suggestions

• The latest Rat Chat podcast has a very entertaining interview with the Big Rat winner, as well as a Big Rat loser who says some wild and fairly racist things.

• Jen Ives has written a joke policing article, trying to make out that the Comedy Unleashed tour is “racist, homophobic and sexist”. Kind of weird to imply that Reginald D Hunter is a white supremacist, Scott Capurro is a homophobe and Tania Edwards is sexist against women.

• Twitter melted down about Comedy Unleashed doing a tour. Twitter user PeterPotato tried to make out that the line-up was all white male gammon types. Compare that to the actual poster:

  

• An old podcast episode with Nathan Fielder and Alexa Demie off of Euphoria

• Info for email subscribers only