Guest Blog: Paul Kerensa Just Can’t Wait To Go Free

Compare this to my previous fringe: I paid several thousand pounds to hire
a cave, had to charge a £10 ticket price at the venue’s insistence, and
like most performers up here, I lost money. The 100-capacity venue was
mostly half-full, and I was pleased with that. The truth of the matter is
that for comedy, the playing field has changed.

It used to be that punters would do just that – take a punt. The
comedygoers would maybe seek out a comic they’d heard of and a comic they
hadn’t, as well as a play, a musical and a live band. That was when
stand-up on the TV consisted of Billy Connolly touring Australia, Jack Dee
walking down steps into a wine bar, and An Audience With Freddie Starr.

Now stand-up has found a place on TV, meaning that audiences recognise
more faces. So unless you’ve been on Mock The 8 Out Of 10 Weak Cats At The
Apollo, you just can’t charge a tenner and expect an audience. People
don’t know you. I’ve been quietly happy earning a living and a reputation
co-writing various sitcoms (BBC1’s Not Going Out, BBC2’s Miranda etc), but
as a back-room boy, my name doesn’t scream at you from the poster like a
familiar face you’ve seen on Would I Lie To You Have Been Watching Michael
McIntyre’s Comedy Buzzcocks.

So last fringe, in that dank half-empty cave (it was half-full earlier in
the article – I’ve become a pessimist in just 200 words), I had my “Road to
Damascus” moment. I realised I’d rather the venue was full with no one
paying anything than half-full of payers. You could put a hat round at
the end: if they like it, they put money in, if they don’t, they won’t.
That ups my game, and so I think this free show is as good if not better than
my previous priced ones. Plus I get an enjoyable run of full houses, more
people get to see the show (which is after all why I wrote it), and it
currently looks to be the first Fringe in years that I’ll turn a profit.

To answer that earlier question then: “So what went wrong?” I didn’t think
of doing a free show earlier, that’s all.

– Paul Kerensa

Paul Kerensa has been bringing plays, sketch shows and stand-up to the
fringe since 1998. He’s a BAFTA & British Comedy Award nominee for his
writing on BBC1’s Not Going Out and BBC2’s Miranda, both of which he’s
writing by day during the Festival and performing at night.

You can see Paul’s show, Borderline Racist in Canon’s Gait, 7-20 August at 20.25.