Frankie briefly mentions at dinner a few weeks ago that he’s got his circus showcase coming up, and Matt and I are thrilled to indulge. I know Frankie’s been doing these classes for some time now (and has suffered the injuries accordingly), but never been able to see him in action. He’s very good at this! So much so that he’s in two different routines tonight, one solo and one group (the latter to the tune of La Bamba, of course). I think that makes him the only repeat performer, which says something. It’s sometimes hard to tell what is and isn’t impressive, but the routines that stand out to me are the ones where there’s some kind of concept to it. The monks that end the first half a prime example of that. An excellent way to spend a Sunday evening.
Oh my word. What an evening. Kearns - whose cogs you can hear turning when trying to riff at the best of times - gets thrown off about 20 minutes in by a barely intelligble heckler airing a many years old grievance about an interaction at a previous show about making fridge magnets. It’s beautifully defused in a very clever way of redirecting the anger at someone who can take it, but also heightens future potential interruptions. The show itself is classic Kearns, remarkably dense and emerging from such a rich persona. The comparison of the shared calendar to a chessboard, chef’s kiss. He’s one of the best we’ve got, and very happy to chat afterwards. Pat Cahill is a phenomenal support act, both in general and for Kearns, letting the audience know what to tonally expect while being completely different. A touch of Harry Hill, a glint of Sean Lock, but something quite different altogether.
At this point, I think if asked I would still name Ali Smith as my favourite author, and I am delighted that Christie has managed to nab her for a book talk. Smith is an easy raconteur, clearly happy to be talking to and at people, her mind making the connections and drawing the deeply held fragments of knowledge out of nowhere that characterise her writing - it’s just her, it really is. Insightful as to how she approaches writing, the way the seeds grow. I also get to meet her briefly and talk to her about using Boy Meets Girl to woo Alasdair, and she seems genuinely touched to be told that and we have a nice little conversation about the Greek myths.
Fair play to the Slapstick Festival, they’ve pulled a blinder here, convening Armando Ianucci, Rebecca Front, and Chris Addison to talk about the history of The Thick Of It. They’re all in good form and full of anecdotes (including, fatefully, Front trying to convince Lawrence Fox he shouldn’t join Twitter).
Even if it’s no longer quite at its peak, Not Going Out remains close to my heart as a sitcom. At its best, it couldn’t be beaten for gag rate or farcical plotting. So it’s a real treat to have Lee Mack in Bristol for the Slapstick Festival, talking about the history of the show. Thrilled, genuinely, to see actually never-before-seen clips from the original pilot with Catherine Tate, something I honestly never thought I’d get to see. It would have been a very different show. Well-wishing videos from Tim Vine and Sally Bretton reveal the origin of Mack’s pedantry over people saying they have two choices, which is a fun bit of minor lore I’m obsessed with. The Q&A is absolutely disrupted at the end by someone using it to propose to their partner, which tops every “more of a comment than a question” I’ve ever heard for worst instance of an audience question. Bravo. Afterwards, I get to tell Mack how much I used to love the Radio 2 show he did, which took him aback, as I might be the first person to have ever mentioned that to him. I do my best.