Maltly Theatrey.


This evening's debut Maltings Arts Theatre Mostly Comedy was an enjoyable way to kick off our St Albans dates.

My prevailing post-gig thought is it felt like a perfect fit. The auditorium is extremely comfortable to work in, and perhaps the most focused space where we’ve presented the club, with the Market Theatre or Leicester Square Theatre at a very close second-and-third place. While there are lots of positives about the Sun, the biggest stumbling block is how easy it is for the audience’s focus to be lost, particularly when the performer isn’t a well-known one with an instantly recognisable rhythm. It’s a vast, high-ceilinged room with a tiny stage in the midst of a wide wall, with so much potential for distraction. Our techie Paul does an excellent job of lighting it to make the best of what we’ve got, but despite the definite improvement since we first started there, it’s still lacks the cohesion to be a great performance space.

Theatre’s where the performers work 'on the flat' - like the Maltings is - often feel a little weak and anticlimactic, but the set-up here is just right. There’s a sense you have nothing to work against, which is always a bonus, particularly when trying new ideas (which I did about ten minutes-worth tonight). You’re not fighting for attention, plus the room’s just the right size for a good reaction to spread; tonight’s gig was about half-full, but it didn’t feel like it. Both Arthur Smith and Barry From Watford went down a storm, and Glyn’s and my stuff went well too. It was a very promising start, with just the right line-up. It makes me excited about the two remaining dates we’ve currently confirmed (the second of which with Reginald D Hunter and Hattie Hayridge is selling rapidly). The only negative I see is that performing comedy in such a nice space makes me wish we can transfer all the best bits to the Sun too; that’s nothing against the Sun as a venue, but when it’s pitched against a well-equipped theatre, it can’t compete.

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane
Read more