As a comedian, my favourite gigs are benefit gigs. OK, so they’re unpaid, but for someone like me who spends much of their time being professionally immature, these shows offer a rare opportunity to do something worthwhile with my questionable ‘skills’.
The great thing about them is they’re organized by political activists, not showbiz impresarios, so they tend to have a quirky, homespun feel. Slick, soulless commercialism is replaced by lo-fi, big-hearted amateurism. Inevitably, this fingers- crossed/never-done-it-before/how-hard-can-it-be model of show business does occasionally result in the odd glitch. Here are just three of the pitfalls that have befallen me:
