Breaking a Leg

Two months after the show, here's a follow-up episode, in which you can hear a recording of a conference paper I gave at the University of Kent on 14 January.

An audio recording of the second half of my show, performed at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury on 6th December 2015. For the first half, see the previous episode of this podcast. A video of the show should be posted online some time in January, so you may want to wait for that instead.

An audio recording of the first half of my show, performed at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury on 6th December 2015. The second half will follow in the next episode. A video of the show should be posted online some time in January, so you may want to wait for that instead.

So, the show happened. This episode was recorded immediately before the show started, at the interval and two days afterwards. So now you can find out how it all went. How many people came to see it? Did they enjoy it? And at the end of it all, did I think the months of work that had gone into it were worth it?

The final episode before I perform the show itself, this features various bits of audio from the few days building up to the final event. There's a tiny snatch of rehearsal footage, plus bits of reflection recorded at various times, and even snatches from an appearance on BBC Radio Kent talking to Lembit Opik. It's a right old sound collage.

Here I talk about the poster for the show. In the process, I touch on such issues as visual design, digital vs. analogue, hand-drawn lettering vs. chunky sans serif fonts, portrait vs. landscape, and the general concept of visual design in stand-up comedy. In the course of all this, there's a passing mention of Ross Noble.

Here I talk about - and play - the song that will close the show. It's a serious song rather than a comedy number, and as such it's pretty much the only bit of actual material that I'm happy to give away here before I perform the show.

Here I talk about the emotional effects of struggling to put together a new full-length stand-up show. And I refer to a bit of academic research published nearly 40 years ago, featuring an interview with a successful comedy writer who describes pretty much exactly what I'm going through right now.

I've recorded a theme tune for my upcoming stand-up show BREAK A LEG (at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury on 6th December). In this episode, I explain why I've recorded a theme tune, and why I think it's going to make an important contribution to the start of the show. AND I PLAY YOU THE ACTUAL FREAKIN' THEME TUNE! Check it out, it rocks!

I finally get down to it and spend an entire day rehearsing the show. But what are the pros and cons of rehearsing stand-up comedy? Have a listen, and I'll tell you my thoughts on the subject. Meanwhile, it's less than three weeks until I perform my show. Scary!

In this double length episode, I interview my wife Jacqui about the femur-shattering accident that inspired my upcoming stand-up show, to be performed at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury on 6th December.

Just before starting to finish writing the show, I take 15 minutes out to try and explain precisely why I'm doing this podcast. What's the point of trying to document something as immediate and ephemeral as stand-up comedy? And why might it be interesting to listen to a podcast about the process of making a new stand-up show? Have a listen, and find out why I'm archiving the shit out of this show.

Here I spend pretty much an entire weekend trying to write my upcoming stand-up show, Break a Leg. Will I finish it? Listen and find out!

Here I interview my younger son, Tom, about the events surrounding my femur-smashing tumble on the pavement which inspired my upcoming stand-up show, Break a Leg.

Here I discuss how I'm using the fact that I compere our student comedy night, Monkeyshine, in order to get up to match fitness for my big stand-up show, Break a Leg. WARNING: CONTAINS LIVE AUDIO OF ME PERFORMING VARIABLE QUALITY STAND-UP.

Here I go into the rehearsal room for the first time and remember that it's practically impossible to rehearse stand-up comedy. I spend ages copying notes from my notebook onto piece of A3 paper trying to create an arc for the show. Then I mess about for a bit trying to find a voice for a nice old man who never did me any harm, in order to mock him for comedy purposes. Time well spent? You be the judge.

In this episode, I interview my 18-year-old son Joe about his perspectives on my femur-fracturing accident. He says some pretty funny things along the way, so hopefully some of this will end up in the stand-up show I'm going to perform about the whole business.

Here I tell you about a prop I've bought for the show. It's called a Super Scanner, and it detects metal. But where is the metal it will detect? And what is the super-funny gag I'm going to use it for? Maybe even I don't know that yet...

Here I take you through the notebook which contains most of the ideas for my upcoming full-length stand-up show, Breaking a Leg. I also rattle the information leaflet containing the terrifying potential side effects of a drug I was recently prescribed.

In this episode I start to look for material for my stand-up show Breaking a Leg, by trawling through my Facebook history in the period immediately after the accident in which I broke my femur. I'm panning for comedy gold, but come away largely empty handed. Will I have a full length stand-up show by 6th December? Who knows!

Here I explain what this podcast is all about. In a little over fifteen minutes, you'll hear how I broke my femur, decided to create a full-length stand-up comedy show about it, and how the podcast will document the whole process. As if that wasn't enough, you'll also about my first swim in six months, and - perhaps more entertainingly - my first taste of alcohol for six months.