Behind you!

On Thursday we had a great audience for our poetry roadshow Fourpenny Circus. They were a generous lot – laughing in the right places, crying in the right places, occasionally giving an encouraging murmur – and I was reminded that performance is a two-way thing. I think we did a really good performance that night – but we’ve delivered just as well or better in other venues, and yet gone down like a lead balloon.

Have you ever done the same set of poems two nights in a row, only to find that the first audience loved you and the second received you in stony silence? We all have off days, but it’s down to the audience too. They might not be in the mood: maybe the venue is cold, or they just heard that the bar is closing in ten minutes, or someone introduced you with an unfortunate turn of phrase that makes you sound like an arse; it might just not be your sort of audience. All we can do in these situations is try to win the blighters over, and accept that some audiences are harder than others.

Generally, though, the audience is on your side. Nobody comes to a live literature event hoping that the performers will be rubbish: they’ve made a small investment in seeing you on stage, and they are hoping to be entertained, amused, provoked or aroused. You can do that; we all get up on stage because we are show-offs, but also because we have something to share, something to tell, something to say.

The Big Chill performance is coming up and for this performance in particular, even the experienced speakers might feel a bit on edge. We’ve formed a little online community here, and it feels as if there is something to live up to. I’m really looking forward to seeing Charlie on stage, and to hearing the rest of the performers for the first time. So if there should be any nerves (which I doubt) just remember; the people in front of you are right behind you.