And now the end is near...
In a rare quiet moment, I'm taking the opportunity to apologise for my lack of blogging, and to say that tonight marks the end of the first year of the College of Comedy. We're doing a live showcase here at Television Centre, we're expecting 130 people from the comedy world inside and outside the Ö÷²¥´óÐã, and it all kicks off at 6.30.
Organising the showcase accounts for my absence, since it has involved quite a lot of work. We're doing half a script from each of the six original projects, with three exciting young directors and a rather amazing cast, which made me feel rather privileged when we were all together for rehearsals yesterday.
The actors include Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman, Miranda Hart, Lucy Montgomery, Simon Daye, Geraldine McNulty, Nick Mohammed and Una Stubbs, and the writers are as excited as I am.
Actually, it's excitement mixed with the fear, but that will go away once we hear the first laugh. Which I'm hoping will be in the first few seconds.
We're starting with Spilt Milk by Trippplicate, a show set in a failing cafe, followed by Not 19 Forever by Andrew Viner, about a group of 30-something friends, and then Sunday Lunchers by John Warburton, which is set in a pub with an eclectic group of characters.
Mix-Up, by Leah Chillery, is about a young woman discovering on her birthday that she is mixed race. 4x4 by Catherine Shepherd is about a 50ish woman with four children by four different fathers, and we're finishing with Daddy Cool by Rob and Neil Gibbons, which is about a man with early onset Alzheimers and a squabbling family. Dan Antopolski is compering.
It feels as if the year has gone by very quickly, and soon I'll have to do a proper taking stock. As of now, it feels as if most things have worked, and a good thing is that I have been able to recommend the writers to colleagues who are producing or developing shows. The year has made me think more deeply about comedy and comedy writing and production - generally,stuff that one does rather than stuff one meditates on - and that has provoked some interesting thoughts, which have been further stimulated by people who comment here.
I know that all the writers will go on and prosper, which is the main and best outcome. So now it's rehearsals then showtime.
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