28/08/07
The Show Mustn't Go On -
Categories: So here's how my Fringe ended. Last show, and I hadn't signed the contract for the venue hire. This is because the venue had not delivered - aside from the road noise outside, the need to keep our show's decibels down because of a wanky guitarist next door who refused to use a microphone, and the uncomedyness of playing a 140-seater marquee in daylight at lunchtime... there was the real clincher that the box office staff were actually shrugging paying punters off. I had people come up to me in the street asking where the show was on, because they'd been to the venue and tried to buy a ticket, only to be told by Box Office Moron No.1 that they didn't know the show, and didn't know where it was on. Little did Box Office Moron No.1 know that I was in the tent about a metre away from them, setting up the show to perform to the dedicated 9 people that disregarded box office's dissuading words.
The only silver lining I can find to this cloud was that the punters were did have were wonderfully committed to the show. They had in many cases been to a cave first, then battled past box office telling them they'd never heard of the show, then being directed to a tent I wasn't in, then ultimately taking their seat in the marquee I was in. Well done them. That's dedication.
So this is why I hadn't signed the contract, in the hope of a reduction/discount in light of the inadequacy of venue staff and venue. The venue manager, who shall remain nameless, blockaded the venue entrance and, in front of the queuing audience (again, showing dedication in getting that far), declared that if we didn't sign to say that we'll pay him the full whack of the best part of a grand for his services, then he'd cancel our last show.
A dilemma, then. Does the show go on, and we pay for it? Or do we stand firm against paying the full amount, but forfeit the final show and send the audience home?
I chose the former. I paid about £60 per audience member for that last show to go ahead. They were nearly worth it. Well, I told them the above, so that they would hopefully give it their all, and they did.
Why did I do it? Well I wanted the run to end properly. It would have been a massive anticlimax to not do that last show, plus while I know that venue manager didn't really deliver, I'd like to think I have. Those who saw the show seemed to really enjoy it, and I did the very best I could given the circumstances. I was pleased with it. So while I'm happy that the venue manager may have bad words said about him on the grapevine, I didn't want my name to be mud for not paying him - I'm sure it wouldn't be, but at least I can say I did everything above board. If we weren't happy with the venue and their staff, I guess legally we should have stopped performing days before and just given up and gone home. So in that sense, he was right to not let us perform that last show unless we paid for it. I just wish he'd have listened to us and negotiated a little to give us a price that would reflect the half-arsed efforts of the venue resulting in lower ticket sales than I feel the show deserved.
Ah well, you live and learn. I shall compile a list of Things I've Learned At Edinburgh Festival This Year in a few days, and post it here. If you're ever planning to do a show in Edinburgh, I'd say it's required reading, because I learned a-plenty this year. Mainly about box office staff and IQs.
RSS Feed