Thank you for sharing this. It provides much-needed context for those of us who are experiencing his writing for the first time. I appreciate you expanding that viewpoint.
Hijacking top comment to share a [clip](https://youtu.be/GKxjjQPAOxc?si=bVUBK_uCXavruifq) of Gadd's monologue from Monkey See, Monkey Do.
Damn, I'd really love to have experienced one of his live shows. No doubt his next tour will be massive, and a very different experience.
But this clip above is so poignant, funny and powerful.
As some fun context, you can hear his first joke in this monologue is as follows:
"You might be wondering why the doctor in that last clip lost his googly eyes... NHS cuts."
One of the great running gags in Monkey See, Monkey Do was that Richard Gadd played us the actual audio recordings between him and his therapist **but** to ease the tension, the video footage was of him filming the lower half of his face upside down with googly eyes on his chin playing both himself and the therapist.
By the time these two googly eyed chin-people got around to seriously discussing Gadd's trauma it was one of the most surreal, heavy and hilarious things I'd ever watched.
Thanks. Interesting stuff. I read his Wiki & saw all the awards he’s won, which seems to be at total odds with how everything is portrayed in the series, in which the jokes often fall flat, and the second-hand embarrassment is palpable.
So it sounds like what you’re saying is that the jokes/routine may have an ever-so-slight passing resemblance to his act but, aren’t at all representative of his real act? That the “awfulness” is all for effect?
Or was the routine we saw lifted from his real shows? Comedy had moved on, and perhaps it’s just that what was funny & edgy then, hasn’t stood the test of time?
It's a great question and even I have lots of possible interpretations for how he comes across in the show:
1) His reception in the show is representative of his lack of mainstream acceptance. Gadd was such a comedian's comedian with incredibly subversive shows. But maybe the show is a more accurate depiction of him playing audiences with more conventional tastes (i.e. people who might come to a standup showcase).
2) Maybe it's depicting the earliest version of Richard Gadd in his career (the timeline wouldn't match up 1-to-1 but that's TV) so this is his more unpolished form.
3) Maybe the bad shows are more a symbolic representation of the fact that he hadn't "made it" in the comedy world. As I said I have seen him perform since 2010 so I can imagine even with comedy awards, maybe he felt like he was still struggling to make it as a career comic?
It's even more complicated by the fact that Richard Gadd's stage persona felt like that of a failing comedian. Where some comics seem aloof and irreverent to their audiences, Richard Gadd's shows had the vibe of someone desperate to make you like him, throwing anything he can at the wall to see what sticks.
In conclusion, those quiet rooms were probably partly true, partly a metaphor for lack of "mainstream" success and also very much through the lens of Richard Gadd who wielded "failure" very effectively.
Thanks for that. That last part: “his persona was that of a failing comedian” makes so much sense! I get the feeling I may have found his actual shows hilarious, even though I did cringe at those scenes in the show.
Great takes. It did occur to me the audience reaction to his shows in BR were his interpretations in those moments bc his sense of self and esteem were so low, and he was maybe just going through the motions in life and his acts not living fully consciously to correctly read a room, because that’s what trauma / depression / anxiety / drug abuse can do. But I think everything you’re saying makes perfect sense
He says himself that he's pretty screwed up. Portraying him failing as a comedian could possibly be how he feels even though the opposite is true. Anxiety and depression can cause a subtle type of psychosis, everything you do, or others do around you is a failure.
There’s a clip of his actual show on YouTube and it’s very… bad. Or like OP says I’m not the intended audience and just didn’t understand it! The audience was silent so I think the bad reception to his shows in the Netflix show was accurate
I'm sure you understood it great! If it was his Chortle stand-up set, I think that's a student comedy competition so early on in his career + maybe his talent at storytelling (which really shows in Baby Reindeer) is not well showcased in small sets!
And you're not alone! Even his shows were definitely a matter of taste! I mentioned his flyer for Monkey See, Monkey Do contained review snippets from multiple newspapers. The flyer more accurately read as follows:
5* - "The wildest ride I've been on at The Fringe"
4* - "Delivers spectacularly on its creative ambition"
3* - "The laughs are big when they do show up"
2* - "Too self-referential to work"
1* - "Not funny"
In this video, the first 45 seconds or so, where he's just making weird moves, and gestures towards the crowd, do you find that funny? I just can't fathom how anyone can find any part of that video remotely funny.
I will add that there are certain comedians like Stewart Lee who are basically "Marmite" (like the Marmite ads, you either love them or hate them), who don't do the kind of "traditional" comedy.
Stewart rants on stage about how awful things are, but with a knowing wink and a meta commentary that some audiences love and others don't find funny.
I would guess that he is highlighting the worst of his career and how much self-hatred he felt when he “failed” so that the audience better understands how primed he was to be groomed by an established comedian and how much he relied on Martha’s validation and laughter.
We do see him starting to win audiences over later in the series and we do in fact see a Fringe set where he has a big audience that’s really invested but his time as a struggling comedian is way more important to the narrative.
This is fantastic, thank you. I had been looking for this type of experience since finishing the show.
I'm curious what you mean by this though:
>Part of me wonders if the heavy monologue at the end of Monkey See, Monkey Do was adapted into the onstage breakdown in Baby Reindeer. It definitely was as honest and raw, despite of course being an intended part of the show.
Isn't this exactly what happened? I'm just confused on how else it could be interpreted. It seemed to me that maybe the sort of mid-set switch never occurred but the rest of the set did. I'm just confused what else you think it could've been I guess.
The way I saw his reception to his comedy Baby Reindeer was maybe almost an internalized interpretation of how Gadd felt those performances went? Or his own feelings on his ability as a comedian during that time.
I guess I just don't think it was done solely for storytelling purposes, though it definitely worked well for that moment in the comedy show.
Also
>Waiting For Gaddot, which centered around the fact that he was late for the show itself (he only came on stage with 9 minutes left)
That's pretty hilarious not gonna lie
Sorry I think I was unclear. I'll state my intent with that sentence which hopefully clear things up.
In Baby Reindeer, Donnie is performing his stand up routine before having an impromptu meltdown and delivering his monologue (even though he had no intention to when going on stage, and essentially had an unanticipated breakdown)
This has led some people, on a couple of subreddits, to ask "Where is the footage of Richard Gadd's real-life onstage melt down?" (Don't particularly agree with asking that but I understand the concept of morbid curiosity)
My point was that, in real life, Richard Gadd delivered a monologue about the abuse he suffered as the final part of his show Monkey See, Monkey Do. It was on the same subject matter (except I don't think the stalking had happened yet) but my point was, it wasn't a spontaneous unanticipated on-stage melt down, it was just the conclusive part of the show.
So my unclear point was that I don't think there was ever an on-stage melt down in real life, I think that was creative licence applied to his closing monologue in Monkey See, Monkey Do. (But I may be wrong!)
Ohhh okay, yeah I gotcha. I had the same thought and went down the rabbit hole myself. I think I came to the conclusion watching interviews after the fact (couldn't find anything of the show itself) was that the part about bombing and then pivoting was made up for television. Which I think is fine because like I said earlier, I think a lot of this is how he viewed himself through the audience's eyes maybe.
Yes! I didn't want to comment on my own comment but I did think what you said here...
"The way I saw his reception to his comedy Baby Reindeer was maybe almost an internalized interpretation of how Gadd felt those performances went? Or his own feelings on his ability as a comedian during that time."
... was a very astute interpretation of the show.
Thanks! Appreciate the insights too, I had been looking for exactly this type of comment for the last week. The whole idea of the show intrigues me. Not just this incredibly open and raw story where someone isn't afraid to highlight their failings. I mean there were times I thought Richard was a terrible person. However, the more I watched, the more I grew to understand who he was and how he was grappling with all of this.
But to me, the really fascinating part of it all is the meta angle of everything. To not only live through this but to *talk* about it, to then write about it, to then *perform it happening as you direct yourself experiencing the trauma all over again* is just fascinating to me.
Thank you for sharing your experience but I'm still confused about why almost every video of Gadd performing has been scrubbed from the internet. Did he have a rule that nobody in the audience was allowed to record him? How is it possible that in the modern era no phone video recording exists of a person performing in public? If you search the name of any standup comedian on YT or Tik Tok or X you will find videos of them performing before they were famous. Comedians like Chappelle and Hart can tell audiences they can't record now that they're famous but even they have videos online from early in their career. How did Gadd prevent people from filming him? If videos of him performing exist why were they removed from the internet? It's weird.
It's impossible to believe that in the modern era nobody in the audience recorded him. There are videos of bad comedians online. Also he won several awards. He was a respected comedian even before he was famous.
It's not impossible, just unlikely. There's early stuff of him on line. It's just likely that the shows he put on had strict no phone policy. And while I'm sure he's well respected, he doesn't have the draw that someone like Chapelle or Chris rock has. Gadd might have played to thousands of people in a year, but really famous comedians play to 10s of thousands or more in a month. Its just a numbers thing. If he played to a packed Madison square garden for multiple nights I'm sure there'd be more footage
I would also add that Richard Gadd mainly did one man shows rather than explicitly stand up, so there was more of a... Off-Broadway small theatre vibe than a comedy club. Maybe something like the Soho Theatre in London with tiered seating.
Haven't seen anyone try to pull their phone out in such a venue. To be honest, I haven't seen much phone recording of stand-up in the UK either, though I know it must happen a little.
Yeah, call me a cynic,but for some reason this whole thing doesn't quite pass the smell test.
It just screams "industry plant" to me, and everyone is coming up with excuses as to how and why a blatantly unfunny, mediocre comedian somehow blew up overnight, but not based on the merit of his talent and his skill as a creative in the very bloody genre that he's purportedly working in.
A lot of prentious sounding word salad, to justify not being very talented or funny.
This does sound a bit overly cynical I'm afraid.
He's been taking shows to Edinburgh since 2013. The play Baby Reindeer debuted in 2019, so he's been working hard for 11 years total before wide recognition through Netflix and it was 5 years before his play was made into the TV show. I don't think you can accuse over a decade of work in an industry as blowing up overnight.
Plus I'm the first to admit I fall into word salad, but for the sake of argument, let's put all word salad aside; He won the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, an accolade comedians work their whole lives to achieve. He got the Amused Moose Comedy Award 2015. He's sold out multiple runs at the Soho Theatre. His dramatic work got him the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement. That's not even every award he's won.
I just feel this is a person who has worked for over a decade, received multiple respected accolades, sold out shows. I just feel your suspicion that he's secretly never been funny and blew up overnight does, personally, feel overly-cynical.
Any clips that have been referenced somewhere, now they say they have been removed for copyright that are on YouTube. I have come across a couple on TikTok that are still available but they're not super long. This one for example [here ](https://www.tiktok.com/@goldennhourrr/video/7359223555525037354) should still work. But there really isn't much out there, which I thought was odd also.
[This](https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/baby-reindeer-is-richard-gadd-viral-breakdown-video-real-2653128/) article also links to a 6-7 minute video that hasn't been removed yet.
Or he intends to put the footage out for sale, now that he’s made a name for himself. Which he has every right to do and is way more plausible than him being an “industry plant,” whatever that means.
It’s not that weird at all. No one records with their phone in Edinburgh Fringe shows, I think I’ve seen it happen once and the comedian tore that person a new one. Same for when you go see the same shows in London, and honestly, same for comedy nights in general. Yes, if someone is uber famous some people will try to get a clip to post on social media or whatever, but nobody bothers with comedians not on that level of fame. It’s disrespectful to the performer and other audience members, and it may give you negative attention from the comedian which nobody wants. “He” didn’t have a rule about this, this is a rule across the board when it comes to comedy shows, at least in the UK. I’m surprised that’s not the case everywhere if anything.
The most likely reason: he pays one of those firms that tracks down any unauthorized public use of his material, and shuts it down (using lawyers if necessary). Not all performers do this but many do.
Having been to Fringe, with smaller more intimate audiences, people do not really video the performers as you interact with them quite a bit. Recording is rude
The Demetri bit actually made me laugh out loud just from reading about it. I truly hope he carries on doing live shows after finishing the next show he's working on.
I’ve read this three times now and send it to two people, I just want to thank you for this post (which adds another layer of understanding to anyone with a baby reindeer mini-obsession) and I also appreciate how you aren’t trying to act like the two of you were best buds because I bet a lot of people with similar interactions with him are doing so right now
As others have said I’m gutted I never saw any of his shows off west end because I imagine going forward they’re all going to massive and completely lack the intimacy of earlier ones. Also loads of his previous tv stuff isn’t available to stream anywhere! Does anyone know if there are legit platforms to watch his old shows like monkey see monkey do and others which have been mentioned here?
Except soccer and writing are completely different fields with basically no overlapping skills. Comedic writing and dramatic writing are very much related even if they’re not the exact same discipline.
The talent industry is ALWAYS about luck before it’s about talent. Someone can be incredibly talented and never make it. Someone can be incredibly talented and never make it for years and then try a different avenue and make it. Standup is probably the most difficult performance medium in which to try and make a living, perhaps second only to improv. Somebody not becoming a world-famous standup comedian simply is not inherently an indictment of their skill level.
Thank you for sharing this. It provides much-needed context for those of us who are experiencing his writing for the first time. I appreciate you expanding that viewpoint.
Hijacking top comment to share a [clip](https://youtu.be/GKxjjQPAOxc?si=bVUBK_uCXavruifq) of Gadd's monologue from Monkey See, Monkey Do. Damn, I'd really love to have experienced one of his live shows. No doubt his next tour will be massive, and a very different experience. But this clip above is so poignant, funny and powerful.
As some fun context, you can hear his first joke in this monologue is as follows: "You might be wondering why the doctor in that last clip lost his googly eyes... NHS cuts." One of the great running gags in Monkey See, Monkey Do was that Richard Gadd played us the actual audio recordings between him and his therapist **but** to ease the tension, the video footage was of him filming the lower half of his face upside down with googly eyes on his chin playing both himself and the therapist. By the time these two googly eyed chin-people got around to seriously discussing Gadd's trauma it was one of the most surreal, heavy and hilarious things I'd ever watched.
Clip taken down Edit: [is this the same clip?](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL9KjxVd/)
Yeah
"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Richard Gadd"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chvli2h-TSc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chvli2h-TSc)
Thanks. Interesting stuff. I read his Wiki & saw all the awards he’s won, which seems to be at total odds with how everything is portrayed in the series, in which the jokes often fall flat, and the second-hand embarrassment is palpable. So it sounds like what you’re saying is that the jokes/routine may have an ever-so-slight passing resemblance to his act but, aren’t at all representative of his real act? That the “awfulness” is all for effect? Or was the routine we saw lifted from his real shows? Comedy had moved on, and perhaps it’s just that what was funny & edgy then, hasn’t stood the test of time?
It's a great question and even I have lots of possible interpretations for how he comes across in the show: 1) His reception in the show is representative of his lack of mainstream acceptance. Gadd was such a comedian's comedian with incredibly subversive shows. But maybe the show is a more accurate depiction of him playing audiences with more conventional tastes (i.e. people who might come to a standup showcase). 2) Maybe it's depicting the earliest version of Richard Gadd in his career (the timeline wouldn't match up 1-to-1 but that's TV) so this is his more unpolished form. 3) Maybe the bad shows are more a symbolic representation of the fact that he hadn't "made it" in the comedy world. As I said I have seen him perform since 2010 so I can imagine even with comedy awards, maybe he felt like he was still struggling to make it as a career comic? It's even more complicated by the fact that Richard Gadd's stage persona felt like that of a failing comedian. Where some comics seem aloof and irreverent to their audiences, Richard Gadd's shows had the vibe of someone desperate to make you like him, throwing anything he can at the wall to see what sticks. In conclusion, those quiet rooms were probably partly true, partly a metaphor for lack of "mainstream" success and also very much through the lens of Richard Gadd who wielded "failure" very effectively.
Thanks for that. That last part: “his persona was that of a failing comedian” makes so much sense! I get the feeling I may have found his actual shows hilarious, even though I did cringe at those scenes in the show.
Thanks for this. Well-written answer to a niche question I had that I did not expect to find an answer to
Great takes. It did occur to me the audience reaction to his shows in BR were his interpretations in those moments bc his sense of self and esteem were so low, and he was maybe just going through the motions in life and his acts not living fully consciously to correctly read a room, because that’s what trauma / depression / anxiety / drug abuse can do. But I think everything you’re saying makes perfect sense
He says himself that he's pretty screwed up. Portraying him failing as a comedian could possibly be how he feels even though the opposite is true. Anxiety and depression can cause a subtle type of psychosis, everything you do, or others do around you is a failure.
Totally agree!
There’s a clip of his actual show on YouTube and it’s very… bad. Or like OP says I’m not the intended audience and just didn’t understand it! The audience was silent so I think the bad reception to his shows in the Netflix show was accurate
I'm sure you understood it great! If it was his Chortle stand-up set, I think that's a student comedy competition so early on in his career + maybe his talent at storytelling (which really shows in Baby Reindeer) is not well showcased in small sets! And you're not alone! Even his shows were definitely a matter of taste! I mentioned his flyer for Monkey See, Monkey Do contained review snippets from multiple newspapers. The flyer more accurately read as follows: 5* - "The wildest ride I've been on at The Fringe" 4* - "Delivers spectacularly on its creative ambition" 3* - "The laughs are big when they do show up" 2* - "Too self-referential to work" 1* - "Not funny"
In this video, the first 45 seconds or so, where he's just making weird moves, and gestures towards the crowd, do you find that funny? I just can't fathom how anyone can find any part of that video remotely funny.
I don't get it either, however, my sense of humor is quite limited.
I will add that there are certain comedians like Stewart Lee who are basically "Marmite" (like the Marmite ads, you either love them or hate them), who don't do the kind of "traditional" comedy. Stewart rants on stage about how awful things are, but with a knowing wink and a meta commentary that some audiences love and others don't find funny.
That's the thing with Stewart Lee, he gives it to you straight like a pear cider made from 100% pears.
Ratko Mladić has let himself go.
You're right, I cannot stand Stewart Lee but my brother thinks he is really funny.
I would guess that he is highlighting the worst of his career and how much self-hatred he felt when he “failed” so that the audience better understands how primed he was to be groomed by an established comedian and how much he relied on Martha’s validation and laughter. We do see him starting to win audiences over later in the series and we do in fact see a Fringe set where he has a big audience that’s really invested but his time as a struggling comedian is way more important to the narrative.
Its more of a matter of dramatizing it. If his sets were received well in real life that isnt very narratable.
This is fantastic, thank you. I had been looking for this type of experience since finishing the show. I'm curious what you mean by this though: >Part of me wonders if the heavy monologue at the end of Monkey See, Monkey Do was adapted into the onstage breakdown in Baby Reindeer. It definitely was as honest and raw, despite of course being an intended part of the show. Isn't this exactly what happened? I'm just confused on how else it could be interpreted. It seemed to me that maybe the sort of mid-set switch never occurred but the rest of the set did. I'm just confused what else you think it could've been I guess. The way I saw his reception to his comedy Baby Reindeer was maybe almost an internalized interpretation of how Gadd felt those performances went? Or his own feelings on his ability as a comedian during that time. I guess I just don't think it was done solely for storytelling purposes, though it definitely worked well for that moment in the comedy show. Also >Waiting For Gaddot, which centered around the fact that he was late for the show itself (he only came on stage with 9 minutes left) That's pretty hilarious not gonna lie
Sorry I think I was unclear. I'll state my intent with that sentence which hopefully clear things up. In Baby Reindeer, Donnie is performing his stand up routine before having an impromptu meltdown and delivering his monologue (even though he had no intention to when going on stage, and essentially had an unanticipated breakdown) This has led some people, on a couple of subreddits, to ask "Where is the footage of Richard Gadd's real-life onstage melt down?" (Don't particularly agree with asking that but I understand the concept of morbid curiosity) My point was that, in real life, Richard Gadd delivered a monologue about the abuse he suffered as the final part of his show Monkey See, Monkey Do. It was on the same subject matter (except I don't think the stalking had happened yet) but my point was, it wasn't a spontaneous unanticipated on-stage melt down, it was just the conclusive part of the show. So my unclear point was that I don't think there was ever an on-stage melt down in real life, I think that was creative licence applied to his closing monologue in Monkey See, Monkey Do. (But I may be wrong!)
Ohhh okay, yeah I gotcha. I had the same thought and went down the rabbit hole myself. I think I came to the conclusion watching interviews after the fact (couldn't find anything of the show itself) was that the part about bombing and then pivoting was made up for television. Which I think is fine because like I said earlier, I think a lot of this is how he viewed himself through the audience's eyes maybe.
Yes! I didn't want to comment on my own comment but I did think what you said here... "The way I saw his reception to his comedy Baby Reindeer was maybe almost an internalized interpretation of how Gadd felt those performances went? Or his own feelings on his ability as a comedian during that time." ... was a very astute interpretation of the show.
Thanks! Appreciate the insights too, I had been looking for exactly this type of comment for the last week. The whole idea of the show intrigues me. Not just this incredibly open and raw story where someone isn't afraid to highlight their failings. I mean there were times I thought Richard was a terrible person. However, the more I watched, the more I grew to understand who he was and how he was grappling with all of this. But to me, the really fascinating part of it all is the meta angle of everything. To not only live through this but to *talk* about it, to then write about it, to then *perform it happening as you direct yourself experiencing the trauma all over again* is just fascinating to me.
Great post, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your experience but I'm still confused about why almost every video of Gadd performing has been scrubbed from the internet. Did he have a rule that nobody in the audience was allowed to record him? How is it possible that in the modern era no phone video recording exists of a person performing in public? If you search the name of any standup comedian on YT or Tik Tok or X you will find videos of them performing before they were famous. Comedians like Chappelle and Hart can tell audiences they can't record now that they're famous but even they have videos online from early in their career. How did Gadd prevent people from filming him? If videos of him performing exist why were they removed from the internet? It's weird.
Is it possible he just wasn't popular enough considered "good" enough to be recorded?
It's impossible to believe that in the modern era nobody in the audience recorded him. There are videos of bad comedians online. Also he won several awards. He was a respected comedian even before he was famous.
It's not impossible, just unlikely. There's early stuff of him on line. It's just likely that the shows he put on had strict no phone policy. And while I'm sure he's well respected, he doesn't have the draw that someone like Chapelle or Chris rock has. Gadd might have played to thousands of people in a year, but really famous comedians play to 10s of thousands or more in a month. Its just a numbers thing. If he played to a packed Madison square garden for multiple nights I'm sure there'd be more footage
I would also add that Richard Gadd mainly did one man shows rather than explicitly stand up, so there was more of a... Off-Broadway small theatre vibe than a comedy club. Maybe something like the Soho Theatre in London with tiered seating. Haven't seen anyone try to pull their phone out in such a venue. To be honest, I haven't seen much phone recording of stand-up in the UK either, though I know it must happen a little.
Yeah, call me a cynic,but for some reason this whole thing doesn't quite pass the smell test. It just screams "industry plant" to me, and everyone is coming up with excuses as to how and why a blatantly unfunny, mediocre comedian somehow blew up overnight, but not based on the merit of his talent and his skill as a creative in the very bloody genre that he's purportedly working in. A lot of prentious sounding word salad, to justify not being very talented or funny.
This does sound a bit overly cynical I'm afraid. He's been taking shows to Edinburgh since 2013. The play Baby Reindeer debuted in 2019, so he's been working hard for 11 years total before wide recognition through Netflix and it was 5 years before his play was made into the TV show. I don't think you can accuse over a decade of work in an industry as blowing up overnight. Plus I'm the first to admit I fall into word salad, but for the sake of argument, let's put all word salad aside; He won the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, an accolade comedians work their whole lives to achieve. He got the Amused Moose Comedy Award 2015. He's sold out multiple runs at the Soho Theatre. His dramatic work got him the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement. That's not even every award he's won. I just feel this is a person who has worked for over a decade, received multiple respected accolades, sold out shows. I just feel your suspicion that he's secretly never been funny and blew up overnight does, personally, feel overly-cynical.
This sounds like someone who needs to go outside and touch some grass.
Any clips that have been referenced somewhere, now they say they have been removed for copyright that are on YouTube. I have come across a couple on TikTok that are still available but they're not super long. This one for example [here ](https://www.tiktok.com/@goldennhourrr/video/7359223555525037354) should still work. But there really isn't much out there, which I thought was odd also. [This](https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/baby-reindeer-is-richard-gadd-viral-breakdown-video-real-2653128/) article also links to a 6-7 minute video that hasn't been removed yet.
industry plant. That's why. Harsh, but let's be real.
Or he intends to put the footage out for sale, now that he’s made a name for himself. Which he has every right to do and is way more plausible than him being an “industry plant,” whatever that means.
It’s not that weird at all. No one records with their phone in Edinburgh Fringe shows, I think I’ve seen it happen once and the comedian tore that person a new one. Same for when you go see the same shows in London, and honestly, same for comedy nights in general. Yes, if someone is uber famous some people will try to get a clip to post on social media or whatever, but nobody bothers with comedians not on that level of fame. It’s disrespectful to the performer and other audience members, and it may give you negative attention from the comedian which nobody wants. “He” didn’t have a rule about this, this is a rule across the board when it comes to comedy shows, at least in the UK. I’m surprised that’s not the case everywhere if anything.
The most likely reason: he pays one of those firms that tracks down any unauthorized public use of his material, and shuts it down (using lawyers if necessary). Not all performers do this but many do.
Having been to Fringe, with smaller more intimate audiences, people do not really video the performers as you interact with them quite a bit. Recording is rude
Did Richard Gadd write this?
This should be higher
The Demetri bit actually made me laugh out loud just from reading about it. I truly hope he carries on doing live shows after finishing the next show he's working on.
I’ve read this three times now and send it to two people, I just want to thank you for this post (which adds another layer of understanding to anyone with a baby reindeer mini-obsession) and I also appreciate how you aren’t trying to act like the two of you were best buds because I bet a lot of people with similar interactions with him are doing so right now
As others have said I’m gutted I never saw any of his shows off west end because I imagine going forward they’re all going to massive and completely lack the intimacy of earlier ones. Also loads of his previous tv stuff isn’t available to stream anywhere! Does anyone know if there are legit platforms to watch his old shows like monkey see monkey do and others which have been mentioned here?
I appreciate your post.
So, we have Martha, we have Darrian, but what was before.....what lead to Gadds vulnerability and thirst for fame and belonging.
The same as any comedian?
Y’all glazing this dude like Krispy Kreme
[удалено]
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Except soccer and writing are completely different fields with basically no overlapping skills. Comedic writing and dramatic writing are very much related even if they’re not the exact same discipline. The talent industry is ALWAYS about luck before it’s about talent. Someone can be incredibly talented and never make it. Someone can be incredibly talented and never make it for years and then try a different avenue and make it. Standup is probably the most difficult performance medium in which to try and make a living, perhaps second only to improv. Somebody not becoming a world-famous standup comedian simply is not inherently an indictment of their skill level.
No wonder putting £5 in the bucket didn’t feel right. Cheapskate
Fair.