Some Plays @ Preston Tringe

Two full UK tours, a successful Edinburgh Fringe run and a few other performances later, last night we said goodbye to my, 'Some Plays By Paul Richards' show. A show which has been good to me; it was initially my first attempt at a 'solo' show (although of course it ended up being a solo-ish piece), it was the first time where my character was called Paul Richards. I did this show to prove to myself that I could. Personal plays, but with punchlines, I grew a lot as a performer with this piece - perhaps sometimes it was a public learning curve, but it all worked out well. Initially I toured it with the brilliant Claudia McKenzie (the busiest musician I know, amazingly this was her acting debut), and then with the also brilliant Hind Shubber (probably my tour buddy for the next few years now, if not longer - she gets what I'm trying to achieve here, and enjoys it too). By the final performance last night I was very much on auto-pilot, this is perhaps how a show should be anyway - a confidence on stage which in turn helps the audience feel confident that they are watching a 'proper' show. So the final performance was in Preston - as part of the Preston Tringe. A small, but impeccably run festival, the whole vibe of the Tringe was summed up by our event; our venue had gone bust, but instead of letting us go, they worked hard to find a solution. The solution was, quite brilliantly, for us to do the show in somebody's garden. Our host was a cracking chap called Tarquin - and he very kindly built a theatre for us in his garden, with our performance space being the garage (although it looked like a proper studio theatre space), with full lights, seating, the works. We felt so incredibly welcome by Tarquin - despite the fact I had a heavy cold so was a more than a bit snotty, it was a thoroughly lovely evening, the audience were lovely, they tipped generously, it was a genuine joy to perform in front of them. After our show we went out with various members of the audience to catch another show at the 'Tringe, had a few beers, before crashing out in our little hotel. All in all, a surreal but brilliant event - the evident love that goes into the Preston Tringe is a real credit to Sam the organiser.

So, no more, 'Some Plays' - but the next stop for this concept is, er, 'Some Christmas Plays By Paul Richards.' December tour dates piling in, back on the road with Hind for that one, and potentially even a return trip to Preston too - good times.