As my book came out last year, I wanted to find a good excuse to start writing a new set of poems. Having the whole of the decade was a pretty good pool of source material! But it was also a chance for me to move away from the more nerdy material I've been writing. Put more distance between the cartoony/comic booky influences and try to not only dig deeper into the wider world, but dig deeper into myself and find Henry 2.0.
Certainly the show was very well-received. After 5 years of performing on the Free Fringe, I can tell when an audience haven't clicked or connected with the show. Usually because they put 50p in the donations bucket at the end. But this year I had much more audiences leaving, irregardless of the wright of their wallets, saying they enjoyed the show.
I think the poems in Apps & Austerity were written much more with a wider 50 minute performance in mind, and so I tried to seed ideas, references and lines throughout the piece which meant there were more connections for the audience to fuse together.
I'm hoping to re-tune the show and take out to a few venues, if anyone is interested in the show drop me an email henry@henryraby.com
I found this year a lot harder than past years, despite being proud of the show. I think this is because flyering never gets easier, and yet it's the only way on such a DIY level we can find audiences. You just have to pitch the show every time the flyer leaves your hand.
I don't think I took the time to properly self-care, which for me means waking, escaping the Fringe, eating somewhere away from the crowds. I had later nights, which were with amazing pals, but potentially took their toll. EdFringe is no easy feat.
One thing I also noticed was, as we move towards an increasingly cashless society, people apologised for not having any money for my bucket. Something I know some artists rectified with a cardless cash machine, and something we need to think about if we're asking for donations and most people just use contactless in the future.
I want to give a huge thanks and shout-out to everyone on the PBH Free Fringe and the scene beyond. The poets and spoken word artists who offer so much love, solidarity and support. Who give a hand flyering, point audiences in the right direction, advertise at the end of their own shows and generally offer compassion and company.
Thank you so much xxx
I am so proud to know you all and hear you say words and have you hear mine.
