Stand Up Comedy Is Not Easy...

Last week I went to see a Stand Up Comedy show. It was performed in a small underground venue in Soho. I actually loved the location. It was small and cozy with a very well stocked bar. I hadn't seen any comedy since my move here to London. I think I was going through withdraws. The whole evening it was such an arch for me. I went through a total high, partly because of the wine probably. I was also really excited because the artist was American and it made me feel at home. I was full of giggles with anticipation. He came on stage (I don't want to reveal the name), let's call him Mr Glasses, and all he did was introduce a guest... Ok, that is fine, let's watch the guest artist first. The guy is brilliant! I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying! The guys was singing, and improvising, he was a caricature of a German Nazi. He was very well prepared and he didn't even let you get a moment to breath, that you were already laughing at his next joke.

Finally Mr Glasses comes back on stage. I was really enjoying the show. Some parts were funnier than other. As the show was coming to an end some things I didn't find funny at all. But being a comedian is really tough, and I hate saying that I can be very critical. After the show, Mr Glasses invited my friends and myself to have a drink with him. The bar is now closed to the public. It's just us. I gladly light up a cigarette, with the great satisfaction of smoking indoors!

I begin to ask Mr Glasses all sort of question, my motivation the desire to perform myself in London. This is when the climax of his game comes crashing down in a depressive self-humiliating monologue about his life! It was so depressing! He totally killed my buzz!! As a performer you NEVER tell your audience that you bombed. I knew he did, but now it was even worse for me. He looks so pathetic. Not only he was complaining about how bad his show was, that he has been telling the same jokes for the last 8 years, that he never has an ending for his show, that often he genuinely does not know what to say!! He also decides to tell me everything about his divorce, about child support, about not having good erections due to stress, and asking me if I thought he was fat?

He was so insecure, the typical tortured and unhappy actor that has not made it. That's really sad, and the feeling lingered with me to the point that I woke the next day really disappointed in his show and quite sad. He is an angry, sad, boring little man! I think it was still good that I went to see this show, it was a good learning experience about what NOT to say or do during and after a show. I have seen student showcases that were a million times better that his performance.

One more evil gossip about Mr Glasses, he was so desperate that he even begged me to become his friend on Facebook so he could invite me back to his show for free and be good audience. Thanks but no thanks!