Well looky here, if it isn’t an ever so slightly different format of email. Don’t worry gang, I've done my best to resist the Substack House Style and retain my signature brand of waffle. The last thing we all want is for me to start churning out inspirational think-pieces. May the Lord strike me deaf, dumb, and blind if I ever positively impact your lives.
Having said that, I do feel like I’m entering a transformational period of my life, guys. (But then, aren’t we always? Wow, okay, I guess I do have what it takes to be a thought leader.)
Quite a few areas of my world all seem to be end/starting. That ‘new academic year’ feeling has really been emphasised by doing the fringe. I guess running a school will do that too. I’m embracing it. September seems a much nicer month to start a new year in than January, anyway, don’t you think? Maybe it’s time to spend £17.99 on a fancy new diary I’ll use for a week and then forget about.
Speaking of diaries, excitingly, I have a BRAND NEW kind of date for you to put into yours.
Introducing… PEEKABOO!
Peekaboo is my brand new, monthly improv night, showcasing the best and most exciting improv comedy happening in London, in the heart of the West End.
For just £10, see established improvisers alongside up-and-comers perform at a packed, playful night, hosted by yours truly. All at the new home of leapday, Seven Dials Playhouse.
The first Peekaboo is on Friday the 26th September, with a corking line-up:
Make Out City - Some of my dreamiest improv pals from across London (tba)
12 People - Energetic supergroup and hosts of everyone’s favourite new night, Scrimmage!
Jiu Jitsu Entertainment Company - A brand new team formed after a recent leapday course
Lizard Brain - the leapday house team with a rotating cast!
I’m really excited for this first one. It’s a really fun, intimate space and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to become my favourite night every month. There’s a bar. It’s in Seven Dials. We’ll probably all stumble somewhere after and become friends for life.
Book now! Forward to pals! Let’s have a buzzy time! Only 50 tickets available!
You can already book for future Peekaboos, too!
I’ve been back from the fringe for 9 days now, and if you follow me on instagram you’ll know I had an incredible month. No point being British about it, the fringe couldn’t have gone better and I ran out of places to pinch myself. The run sold out, the show picked up a bunch of nice reviews, and I had a blast seeing old friends and making new ones.
Since returning to London I’ve mainly been looking after my kids, so today (the first day of school) is really the first moment I’ve had to properly look back. It already feels a long time ago.
I arrived home triumphant, but since then I’ve had some of the worst anxiety dreams of my life. One was clearly my brain processing the guilt of abandoning my kids for a month: In the dream I was going to prison for 2 years and was distraught to be missing my kid’s growing up. The other dream was more about feelings of success/failure and recognition. Eek. What I’m learning is, when things go well I get just as whizzy, if not more so, than when things fail.
What a lucky boy I was though, in Edinburgh by myself but constantly surrounded by supportive pals and lovely audiences. Here is my attempt to glean some things:
People like it when you flyer your own show.
Nothing beats word of mouth.
Staying out of town stops you from getting really drunk every night (or at least for the first two weeks) because you have your cycle home hanging over you (in a good way).
It doesn’t matter how much you tell people not to be funny or clever, someone will still try to be both of those things. That person will be a man.
There’s a reason people take a day off, and it’s ok to spend one day doing nothing.
I did an extra show at a venue called Shedinburgh, where I used a mic, and it turns out using a mic doesn’t ruin the intimate magic of a lo-fi show, and I probably should have used a mic for the whole month. If anything, I could be quieter on mic, which made the gig feel more intimate.
One cannot live on chips alone.
Overall, it was the time of my life and I’m so grateful that I got the chance to take DEDAR to the fringe. Thanks if you came to the show or sent friends! I don’t think I’ll ever get over the run selling out. Honestly.
If you weren’t following along my instagram photo diary, go check it out! It’s an important historical document, if you ignore the meanings of those three words.
I don’t have any DEDAR dates to plug today, since you’ve caught me in the lull following the end of Phase 1 in the DEDAR Cinematic Universe.
However, I’m getting together with some boffins tomorrow to plan out Phase 2, and hopefully I’ll have some news about when/where I’ll be D’ing R’s real soon.
What I can tell you is, if you thought Phase 1 ended crazily, you ain’t seen nothing yet! You won’t believe the doors that open when you mime in a storage container 26 times in a row.
This Monday 8th September, I’m running my workshop on solo improv. It’s my attempt to share what improvising by myself for 3 years has taught me and give people a rare chance to practice solo. Limited to 10 places!
Playing With Yourself - 7-10pm, Seven Dials Playhouse
Looking ahead, there’s our choir on the 15th, a jam on the 22nd, and plenty more besides!
I watched the film KPop Demon Hunters 5 or 6 times while I was in Edinburgh. It was my background comfort watch while I did admin before leaving the house each day.
If you saw my instagram you may have assumed this was a bit. It was not a bit.
It was easier than trying to decide what to watch. I also gave up on the new book I was reading and ended up buying another copy of my favourite book to re-read instead.
Anyone else find themselves listening to less music as they get older, too? I’ve got too much to think about. I can’t dig into an album these days, I’m too busy thinking, genuinely.
Who am I kidding, we all know it’s the old dopamine addiction rearing it’s head. What’s annoying is that it’s all my own fault for soaking my brain in tiktoks and balatro. OH WELL.
(One of the VIPs who came to my fringe run was House of The Dragon actor Emma D’Arcy, and when I told people that ‘the actor from the negroni sbagliato viral sound came to my show’, most people had no idea what I was talking about. Quite sobering for me to realise how few of my peers have wasted their lives consuming viral sounds.)
We hosted the 3rd DEDAR at MR BINGO on Saturday, and as usual it was a delight. Thanks x 100 if you came. It’s always such a lovely mix of people. Hopefully more dates soon. In the meantime, it’s the 1st birthday of Mr Bingo’s shop this weekend, and he’s got some special things happening to celebrate, so consider dropping in if you’re Islington way!
Every day of the fringe, as I cycled into Edinburgh, I crossed a golf course on my bike. The path crossed two fairways, and I couldn’t help but think what a shame it would be if I got brained by a golf ball and that ended up being the way that I went.
One of the many wonderful shows I saw at the festival was Ben Target’s Lorenzo, which I can’t recommend more highly. Before the show started audience members were encouraged to think about and write down their dream death. I’ve thought about ways that I don’t want to die, many times, but I didn’t know what to write. I ended up putting ‘sacrificing myself for a loved one’. If I have to die, at least let me be heroic and get some posthumous attention too, right?
But hang on, why would I dream for such a horrible situation to arise? I haven’t thought through how traumatic that would be for the person/people I’m saving… I could have just said ‘orgasm to death’ like the person next to me. (Still pretty traumatic for those left behind, tbh)
Maybe getting dinged by a golf ball would be alright.
Thanks for reading, old pal.
Adjusting to the Substack experience wasn’t too painful, I hope?
I love writing these, and my brain was far too mushy during August to put any real thoughts together. I felt pretty rusty writing this one, I’ll be honest. A return to form looms on the horizon, if I can just get my practice in.
I think you can still reply to these, if you’re so inclined. Hope to play with you soon!
Love ya!
Daffy
P.S. If you’re looking for something a little different, consider hiring me to describe a room or run a workshop for your company! I’m fun, flexible, and reasonably priced!
Love this new form of receiving your news. I must push back on not being able to live on chips alone. But I look forward to peekaboo!! Is there a way of perhaps even getting involved? If not coming to watch! 👏 look forward to more x
Bullet point 4 under your Fringe reflections - my partner was the guy who said "porn" on the Friday night when asked what was on the open laptop. He still regrets saying it now.