This week I read this article in the Guardian. It’s a bit of a non article, dredging up the tired debate about the role of crowd work over material in live comedy.

Specifically that the myriad of crowd-work clips posted by comedians on social media has altered the comedy landscape for the worse.

This binary perspective on live comedy is irritating. There is room for both crowd work and material. There should be both. Most nights need both. Because crowd work isn’t better or worse than material. It’s just different. But just like material, you can have fantastic, one-of-a-kind crowd work and bad, lazy, hackneyed crowd work.

Also, this article doesn’t make the distinction between hosting and doing a spot. I would argue that the primary role of the MC is to make the crowd feel comfortable, part of something unique and know they can relax with a safe pair of hands. It’s also the role of the host not to try and outshine the acts who have meticulously prepared their sets. So crowd work is a more natural fit for the host.

When I’m hosting and I fall into do material, I feel I’ve cheated. Just a little. Similarly when crowd work happens that is unprepared but it drifts into things I’ve said before, largely because as people tend to give similar responses – especially when set up to do so. “Any students in?” “Anyone on a date tonight” being solid examples.

It’s like doing short form improv. As a performer, you feel a little dirty when you ‘improvise’ a line you’ve said before, merely because, again, people tend to give the same suggestions for short form games (pineapple, dildo, submarine etc). It’s our job as improv performers to be fresh and unique with every line or act out; it’s the same principle with crowd work.

Of course crowd work is a better fit for social media. A lot of scripted material leans heavily on structure: set up, pay off, repetition and call backs. Comics take their crowd on a journey. You can’t easily capture that in a thirty second clip.

But I also think it’s a shame that the dominance of crowd work on this social media landscape has distorted the perception of what a live comedy experience is. I’ve heard tell of people turning up to a comedy chow, having only been exposed to social media soundbites, expecting just crowd work, and being disappointed when they see comics not talking to them as they perform their act.

Back to improv. Crowd work is the perfect use of improv in a stand-up setting. As someone who has been doing both for years, I can say with confidence that they utilise different parts of the brain. Improv requires being completely present and in the moment, actively listening to everything being said and reading the room. Improv isn’t about you, it’s about everything that’s going on around you.

When I’m doing material, conversely, I spend a lot of the time trying to remember what I’ve written until it becomes automatic, like muscle memory. It’s only then that you can be so present you can make that mental flit between crowd interaction and prepared material. And to be honest I spend most of my time on stage wrestling with these two mindsets. I’ve still not cracked it.

Because here’s another thing. If you CAN do great crowd work, it’s arguably much more fun for the performer than it is to do material. It’s worth acknowledging here that there’s always a little touch of jealousy from those comics who can’t do crowd work versus those who can. I think this is a shame and misplaced. It’s like the wider, “stand up versus improv” tribalism crap that exists. I think they both complement each other perfectly, as epitomised in the very best crowd work.

Truth is, they are very different skills. Some comics are excellent writers who hone their material and craft into pure art, but not very quick in the moment. Other comics are superb at being present and lighting fast, but they are not so strong with their material because they prefer to lean on their spontaneity over meticulously hammering their material until it’s razor sharp and bulletproof. I truly believe the best comics are the ones who can do both. They are the ones who have the funny bones.

My first book, Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World, is finally out and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to all of you who preordered, I hope your copy finds its way to you swiftly and safely.

I should point out of a silly typo that has lead to a minor factual inaccuracy. It reads as if I am suggesting that Stan’s daughter J.C. wrote the ’80s erotic novel The Pleasure Palace. This is, of course not true. It was Stan’s wife Joan who wrote the novel. Doesn’t help that the two have the same name…

Unfortunately this copy error was spotted after the first run had gone to print, but I shall ensure it is corrected for future editions.

As you were.

Despite my complete and utter indifference to football, I am truly sad England are out of the World Cup. My country needed the win. We need to feel triumphant. Upbeat. Positive. Some unifying force in the face of the monstrous clusterfuck that is the current British social and political landscape.

This now goes beyond Brexit. The past few days have exposed, more than ever, the visible abuse of power by the monstrous arsehole convention at the helm. Watching from across the Old Sea, I am astonished by the flagrant disregard the few have for how they may appear to the many. They just don’t care. The Machiavellian chess game once sequestered behind the gates of Westminster has spilled out into the public space. Shameless bungling amateurs scrabbling around in the dirt to gratify their colossal, gossamer-thin egos. It is brazen, it is audacious and it is ugly. It’s like doing the Charleston in front of Stephen Hawking, taking a baseball bat to his chair, then insisting he pay for the damage. That brilliant mind has been mercifully returned to the cosmos to shine for all eternity, but for those of us left behind, we continue to watch this abhorrent shitshow unfold with depressing predictability.

It has rarely been so apparent in British politics that these bloated, psychopathic clowns are prepared to burn down the circus tent and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. This is their party and we are not invited. Not really. We have the vote, but if policy is based on blatant lies, and we continue to believe whatever bullshit we are fed, that vote is wasted. We are merely spectators left out in the cold, our noses pressed against the window like desperate Dickensian orphans.

The worst part? We just take it. What do we do? March? It’s a distraction that rarely works. If it did, those in power wouldn’t let us do it. Just how angry does the mob have to get before we trade placards for pitchforks and torches?

The current Brexit strategy will please no one. They know this. Meanwhile the bus continues to hurtle towards the precipice without a map. The brakes are worn. The undercarriage is shot. The tyres are burst, flapping against the dirt as a whoop of obnoxious, fatted baboons fight over control of the wheel. Again, I ask, what do we do? Watch Love Island and crack open another beer?

Still. From what I have seen on here, the sterling effort by Southgate and his respected team has ignited a spark in Albion. This Sceptred Isle is a force to be reckoned with. Even if it is only in football, maybe it’s enough. So let’s keep the fires burning, stay in the game and hold on to hope. In the meantime, here’s a baby sloth in a teacup. Isn’t it cute? Have a great day.

Hello world,

Just a quick update. The Copenhagen Post, Denmark’s leading English-speaking newspaper has foolishly let me unload my brain in a new column.

Read the first one here.

I can’t take credit for the awesome pun on my name, and the child in the photo isn’t my son, but the rest is all me.

Lastly, I’ve landed a new voice-over gig. I’ll reveal more very soon but without giving the game away, here’s a hint. LEGO.

As you were.

Hello world,

Been a while but here’s a quick update.

I’ve got a shiny new website. This is Adrian 2.0, people. This just got real.

Big thanks to Rhiannon at Hey Kiddo for doing an amazing job.

I’ve been living in Copenhagen for just under a year and a half now and it’s marvellous. Last year I reawakened my love for performing live and am now a regular player at Improv Comedy Copenhagen. I’ve learned much about the world of improv, specifically American longform improv, the school of making it up as you go along, pioneered by the late Del Close, whose notable students included so many of my early comedy inspirations, including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and John Candy to name, well, four.

There are shows on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and they are a blast. I take to the stage on Thursdays and Fridays, so if you’re in town, drop by – although it sells out regularly so I advise getting tickets beforehand. The link above tells you all you need to know about performances, tickets, times, classes and more.

So that’s it for now. I’m going to try and better at updating this site. Yeah, I know. I said that last year. And the year before. Bear with me, I’m very tired.

As you were,

A

Hello world. I’m in the latest series of cuckoo and here’s the offending episode. Only at the end, but I think you’ll agree it’s the best scene you’ll see of anything ever.

Cuckoo Season 3 Episode 3: Mum’s Group

Hello world.

Been a long time and a lot has happened. Won’t go into it all here but I’ve been doing some writing that’s appeared in the world so I thought I’d mention these two articles.

The first is on one of my favourite websites Den of Geek, about the most famous composer you’ve never heard of:

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/shuki-levy/37004/shuki-levy-the-soundtrack-to-a-generation

The second is from The Guardian, a piece I wrote on my current life situation and the circumstances behind it:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/nov/11/priced-out-of-london-moved-to-denmark