Audience participation in stand-up shows

[Gurke and Hare]

Spinning off from the Kitson thread, what's your experience of this?

I've been involved a couple of times. The first one was at Kitson's Honourable Men of Art show, a late night Fringe show he did with David O'Doherty, Andy Zaltzman and Alun Cochrane. It was the night after O'Doherty won the Perrier so he was late for the start of the show as he was doing the winners' show that night. I was sitting at one of the tables ight in front of the tage at The Stand and Kitson roped me in to, when he finally arrived, react to the first word he said on stage by standing up, pointing at him and shouting "You've changed, Mr O'Doherty, you've changed!" It probably seems less funny written down at a remove of 10 years, but it was great fun. Those were actually really fun shows, with quite a lot of audience work but it was all in a really good spirit, never picking on anyone or coercing anyone.

The other was also in Edinburgh, at one of Jason Byrne's shows. There was a bit where he got an audience member on stage to do something where he swaddled them in a big blanket and held them like a baby. He obviously couldn't see the audience beyond faces, as I'm by no means a thin person, and after he'd called me up onto the stage and I got up there you could visibily see him thinking "Oh shit". But fair play, he went through with it.

Oh, another one, Sadowitz once did a trick with a fiver of mine.

[DrGreggles]

Kitson is so good at working the audience, but seems to sense who wants to get involved and who doesn't.

When Kitson, Zaltzman and Cochrane did FUCKSTORM3000 a few years ago I got to be involved in Kitson's WiP play, which turned out to be 'Polyphony'.

[Benjaminos]

I made it through 90% of a Boy With Tape on his Face show unscathed, and then was called up to re-enact a bullfight (with me playing the bull), ending in me fake-dying on stage and being awarded with an oscar. It was absolutely excruciating. All I really remember is the blood pounding in my ears and just trying to get through it as quickly as possible.

The genius of his approach is that you don't get a choice. He just picks you, turns his back and goes back to the stage - you either comply, or the show doesn't happen and you look like a miserable bastard.

[vainsharpdad]

I used to love going to see Ross Noble, but slowly over time. the people in the front row leaving things for him on the stage took over more and more of the second half and I just got bored of it.


On his day he's fantastic - but these days I find his DVDs (old-skool I know) are great value and you get a better edit.