The labour theory of shock value
The labour theory of shock value
I need a bringer for Sunday; updated gig dates for Edinburgh Fringe 2022 and beyond
Prince William pegging jokes are old news now, but I had a lot of fun posting stupid memes about it on Instagram when #princeofpegging was trending.
Actually it wasn’t so much fun as some kind of neurological compulsion.
Anyway, a few days ago, Instagram told me that posting this image contravened their terms of service:
This kind of random moderation by algorithms and low-paid, traumatised Malaysian workers is why I prefer to keep in touch with my huge fan base using this mailing list rather than social media.
I have appealed their ruling and I will keep you posted.
As well as shit-posting on Instagram, I’ve been doing some actual stand-up. Had a great time on Tuesday playing to a sold-out room at Artista Cafe Brighton - I’ll post the video for email subscribers when I have it.
I need a bringer
Due to incompetence (mine), I forgot to post about a gig I have this Sunday 14th August. I need a bringer for this one (that is, I need to bring an audience member with me to perform). It’s a great night that usually attracts a big crowd of the general public.
It’s Sunday Shtick, 6:30pm at the Rose & Crown, Kentish Town. Anyone who lives in the area up for seeing me do 7 minutes? I’ll do material you haven’t seen before. Paul? David? Any comics on this list who would like me to be your bringer in return at a future show?
It’s in an air-conditioned room so it should be a nice refuge from the heat.
It’s a great lineup with Mark Flynn and Tasha Cluskey:
I’ll buy you a couple of drinks too. Just reply to this email to get in touch.
My gig dates for the rest of the month
If you’re a comic and you have an Edinburgh compilation show to fill up, or something else I could do, please get in touch.
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
Friday August 19th 6pm - Broke Comedians Performing For Free
Vash Pernikar’s self-explanatory compilation show. I’ll be doing 10 minutes. Also on Friday 26th.
https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/broke-comedians-performing-for-free-2/
Royal Mile Tavern annexe (venue RMT), 127 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1SG
MOVED FROM THURSDAY: Friday August 19th 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. Also on Friday 26th.
https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/late-night-with-mr-spooky-2/
OMNi Centre, Greenside Row, Edinburgh EH1 3AU
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, Edinburgh EH1 1JS
Friday August 26th
6pm - Broke Comedians Performing For Free
As Fri 19th.
10:50pm - Late Night With Mr Spooky
As Thu 18th.
Monday August 29th 7pm - Tooting Comedy Club
I need a bringer for this so get in touch if you’re up for coming.
The Selkirk, 60 Selkirk Rd, London SW17 0ES
Tuesday August 30th 8pm - Vauxhall Comedy Club
I get to do this because I got through a gong show. Not in Edinburgh.
Vauxhall Comedy Club, 6 S Lambeth Pl, London SW8 1SP
Recommendations
Don’t forget, if you’re a comedian going up to Edinburgh and you have a show to plug, I’m happy to publicise it here.
If you’re at the Edinburgh Fringe, check out Nick Everritt: Quiet (haven’t seen this show, but I have seen Nick do stand-up and it was very good).
Another Fringe pick: Duffy Connors’ show Sex Me I’m Irish, which contains at least one hilarious story about accidentally getting sucked off by a man.
Since Stavros Halkias left the Cum Town podcast, they have started putting some effort in again and are now pivoting to video and rebranding as The Adam Friedland Show. It’s an American Saturday night format, like SNL, except funny. You can listen to the audio for free I think, but it’s worth subscribing for £4 a month to see the video. Not if you’re easily offended though (but then, why are you on my mailing list?)
As research for a non-comedy project, I have been re-reading Robert A Heinlein’s Space Cadet, one of his ‘juvenile’ science fiction novels (what we would call Young Adult nowadays). I loved it when I read it aged about 8. It was published in 1948 so is understandably dated in places - Heinlein definitely didn’t anticipate the effects of feminism; all the space cadets are male and a female admin worker is casually described as ‘decorative’ - but not only did he predict mobile phones, he also predicted getting an embarrassing phone call from your dad.
The videogame Stray (PS4/PS5 and PC) has received almost perfect reviews, and I can confirm that it’s excellent. You play as a cat trapped in a city inhabited only by robots. You can do all the classic cat things: tip things off desks and ledges, walk on a keyboard, make biscuits, jump and so on. And these are even integrated into the gameplay, which is mainly light puzzling and platforming with a few fairly easy chase sequences. Even if you’re not a gamer, it’s worth checking this out if you like cats.
I also recommend the tiny retro Playdate console. Unlike the Switch or the Steam Deck, it’s a properly portable console that you can carry in your pocket and play for 10 minutes on the bus. It’s also pretty easy to make your own games for it (if you’re a computer nerd).
I met the stand-up comic and author John Dolan at a gig a couple of weeks back. Check out his book The Otford English Dictionary, which is joke definitions along the lines of The Devil’s Dictionary or The Meaning of Liff. High hit rate of genuinely funny gags.
That’s it for this week. I’m thinking about emailing you all my daily Edinburgh diary once I’m up there - let me know if you like that idea or you think that would be too many emails and would prefer a weekly summary. Or if there are any other suggestions/questions/accusations you have, just reply to this email.