I’m writng this whizzing up to Stockholm on the X2000. I’m on my way to do a bit of writing on the sitcom and hopefully to get a half promised pitching slot tomorrow morning at a production company. But the main event is to test the waters at Stockholm’s new all English club in Gamla Stan: ‘Laughs At The Liffey’.
This morning at Linköping station, .. I thought to myself, ‘Let’s live dangerously’, and I splashed out the extra 15 kronor to travel on the express, which, according to the timetable, gets in at least half an hour earlier than the regional train. Just as the tickets whirred out of the machine, I looked at the departures board to find out which platform, only to see that the X2000 had been delayed by 40 minutes.
Still.. it’s a beautiful day and the scenery is spectacular in the golden sunlight.
I’ve done a couple of gigs in the last couple of days. On Tuesday it was a corporate gig at Mjärdevi Science Park in Linköping. A big computer company had had a training day and wanted me to raise a smile at the end of the day. I was booked for 6pm, which usually means I get to perform an hour or so later. I got there and the event was taking place in a big canteen . There were thirty or so tired looking computer people making quiet conversation with each other. The guy who booked me shook my hand and asked if I was ready to perform. I took my hat and coat off, grabbed a glass of water and I was off.
Things went well – I had a nice rapport with most of the audience, although there was the inevitable one or two who watched me stoney faced, unable to understand why this jolly English guy had been thrust unexpectedly upon them after a hard day’s training, when all they wanted to do was to go home. Still, you can’t please everyone and the rest of the audience were with me. I had a bit of fortune with my Ingmar Bergman routine as I had someone sitting in the front row that looked a lot like ‘Death’ from The Seventh Seal. It’s sometimes nice to use the audience for visual reference.
Last night’s gig was totally different. It was at the Skandia Teater in Norrköping and I was first up of four comedians. This was a proper comedy evening; the standard was high and the audience were up for it. Being first on can be a bit nerve-wracking, but they quickly warmed to me and I got a round of applause after my first set piece. I had moved a couple of things around in my set and I felt happy with the new streamlined order. I think the audience were too by the warmth of applause I got.
The other acts were excellent. First a young guy called Tobias Jacobsson, who has great stage presence and a squeaky clean image, that I can see appealed to the mostly middle-aged crowd. He was followed by Eric Löwenthal who has been in the game for number of years. Without being over the top, he has a great physical presence and every gesture was clear and illustrated the comedy. Then the headliner was good old Thomas Oredsson, the old man of Swedish comedy. Such a nice guy offstage who clearly has a wealth of experience and watching him on stage is an education.
So, onwards to The Liffey, where to be honest, I’m feeling the pressure. Most of the other comics are Swedes, doing what I normally do i.e. joking in a second language. I’m sure they will cut it in English… but the question is, can I?
Watch this space….
