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Dear John

Should my show have a theme and what one?

Question:
I'm thinking of doing a one-person show at Edinburgh next year. Is it better to have a theme to my show and, if so, what are good ones to choose?

Answer:
One very good theme you are already starting with is the early bird idea. There have been some excellent shows cobbled together in a few days and weeks leading up to Edinburgh, but there have been many more disastrous ones. Even sadder are the shows by promising performers which have had some degree of preparation, but not enough, which means regardless of how long they took to prepare, they still look cobbled together. There are broadly two kinds of first-time Edinburgh show - one being the performer who has been plying their act successfully around the club circuit for some time and wants to make the leap to a self-contained performance, and the other being the person or group who creates something especially for the festival.

The former act will usually have a degree of confidence and fluidity gained from regular flexing of the performance muscles, but may find shoehorning or expanding existing shtick into the festival format more difficult than expected. Someone making the leap with a new show may have an interesting idea, but can be taken aback by how much stagecraft and hard work is required to keep that idea interesting over the required hour or so. Here are two successful Edinburgh non-virgins to offer advice on the all important theme selection.

What the experts say:

Paul Kerensa

Paul is an award-winning stand-up comedian and comedy writer. He won ITV1's Take the Mike in 2002, was a finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards, and has since written for sitcoms such as Not Going Out and After You've Gone (BBC1) and sketch shows such as Dead Ringers and The Now Show (Radio 4). He is currently taking his third solo stand-up show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after somehow turning a profit for the last two years.

First, let me say I'm a theme junkie. I've done hour-long solo shows based on the TV show 24 and on the movie Back to the Future, and this year I'm examining the Book of Genesis. There are a lot of shows on at the fringe, and many of these are one-man shows because the overheads are low, so lots of competition. And a theme can make you stand out.

I like a theme. It's a hook. If you're a big name, you might want to sell the show just on your own name - but note that even Ricky Gervais, the first person ever to play the 8,000-seat Edinburgh Castle, is theming his show around the title Fame. Hopefully this hook will have come about organically - it can be painful to watch a comedian crowbarring material into their theme.

I've found the Book of Genesis to be great creative fodder. It's full of stories everyone knows - Adam and Eve, Noah's ark, Joseph's dreamcoat. And it's topical - climate change and Any Dream Will Do. Making your show a subject you're interested in is essential, because otherwise the cracks will show. Last year's show about Back to the Future filled out the venue with fans of the film, which is handy because I'm not a 'name' and wouldn't have filled it based on just me.

You need to think about what story you want to tell, but also remember it must be one an audience wants to hear. It's all very well doing an hour on Edward III's nephew's blacksmith if that fascinates you, but you'll probably find The One Man Star Wars Trilogy sells more tickets than you.

Jude Simpson

Jude is a stand-up poet whose unique take on fresh, accessible poetry has had her described as a cross between Joyce Grenfell and Eminem. Jude performs her third solo show, Growing-up Games, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has appeared on Radio 4's Saturday Live as well as Radio 2's Eddie Izzard's Late Night Cabaret, and has won three national slam poetry competitions.

Firstly, there are no rules, and you need to do what best suits you and your genre.

Solo shows work best when there is something which holds the material together, giving it cohesion and shape.

My show this year centres on things which make people feel grown-up - whether that's getting a mortgage, starting a family, or simply owning more than one shelf in the fridge.

Choose something which is already starting to emerge in your work. Make your theme broad enough not to be restrictive. On the practical side, you will have to submit your show title and blurb some months before finalising what material is included. Don't get to July and find you still need to come up with 20 minutes' worth of jokes about Gordon Brown's favourite vegetables.

Don't get hung up on finding an original theme. You'll have more success doing something simple well than exploring an original idea in a lacklustre way.

At the end of the day, it's all about showcasing yourself, so find a theme which enables you to best demonstrate your skills as a writer and performer, and make sure you yourself are the most memorable thing in your show.

John sums up

I think Paul and Jude have summed up something very relevant about show themes - they should neither be a crutch to enable you to pass off your existing material as something new, but nor should they be restrictive. A theme doesn't have to be something from popular culture or history, it can be a particular feeling or circumstance. It is least of all a licence to bore people with your own obscure hobby, although if you can make your hobby horse interesting to people who normally wouldn't touch it, you might be on to a winner. I'll be doing some workshops later in the year on developing shows, so email me for details. As a practical step right now, you might want to brainstorm a couple of possibilities, work some material into your act (or into general discussion if you are not performing regularly) and test the response. Just don't discuss it too loudly in Edinburgh bars or the person selling out with your killer idea this time next year might not be you.

* Paul Kerensa is performing his Genesis show at 1.40pm in C SoCo Urban Garden (venue 266). Visit www.paulkerensa.com

* Jude Simpson's Growing Up Games is on at Beside in the Pleasance Courtyard (venue 33) at 12.15pm. Visit www.judesimpson.co.uk or call 07734 525722..

* Feedback/queries are welcome to dearjohn@thestage.co.uk
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