Edinburgh Season.

I apologise for a lack of activity in spite of my initial, ambitious beginnings. It has been a busy time for me. It has also been a busy time for comedy, you see, what with it being Edinburgh season and all; everyone has been rushing to do previews of their material to make sure the people who pay proper money to see them up in Scotland actually, um, laugh - and I have been rushing to see them. It's okay to fuck up down in London around this time: in late July, it's simply the done thing. And anyway, I rather enjoy being able to witness the creative process as an audience member - I'm sure it's far less tiring than if you're, say, the partner or a close friend of a comedian, or if you're the comedian yourself.

And yet, as the preview audience - as mere strangers, looming menacingly in the rows of seats a comic is faced with nightly, our judging faces mercifully untouched by the glaring stage lights -, our lazy contribution is valued beyond belief. We are the funny gauge - our only job is to laugh or otherwise forever hold our peace. We're important - we can inform a comedian about where some material needs tidying and cutting, and where some needs to be fleshed out; where the big laughs are, and whether things are heading the right direction generally. Helping professional comedians create their final Edinburgh shows is as satisfying as seeing the final shows themselves.

Another major bonus is that previews tend to be dirt cheap, so even if the show you paid to see wasn't at its funniest, it's not like you wasted much money. For various reasons, I only attended three actual previews this year (Gutted, Daniel Kitson and WitTank), but I don't mind this too much because I have seen various others do new bits and bobs at other comedy nights, and because of the Camden Fringe. I used to get incredibly bitter about the fact that I will not be able to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for several years yet, but now I know that is a foolish, selfish way to feel. Yes, live comedy in London dries up slightly during the summer, but we've got it to ourselves for the rest of the year - a perfectly fair trade, in my opinion.

Coming soon: actual posts about live comedy, featuring WitTank, Andrew Williams, gushing about my favourite London comedy night and various acts at the Camden Fringe this year.