10 Questions with Hugh & my YouTube debut

The countdown continues.... Only a week to go until Hugh Hughes' brand new show 360 receives its first Edinburgh performance!

Click here for a little interview Hugh did for London Is Funny.

At the end of a long day yesterday, Simon and I made the following video (my first, I couldn't let Simon hog our YouTube Channel forever...)

We were drawing the prize-winners of our Get A Little Closer Competition, launched via our mailing list and Facebook Groups.

Well done to our winners, Matthew Evans and Bethany Sheldon!

Hugh Hughes in Reading (not blue-ing)

Before he goes onstage, Hugh Hughes likes to jabber away to himself as part of his warm-up for a performance. "Here we are, in Reading... not blue-ing!!", he declaimed last night before deciding that joke probably shouldn't make it into the show...

But even if it had, I suspect his audience last night in Reading would have lapped it up. It was our last preview of Hugh's new show 360 and, once again, it went down a storm.

It was perhaps the opposite of Hugh's Latitude performance. There he had a huge tent and hundreds of people to play to. At Reading's South Street Arts Centre the audience was small but perfectly formed, leading to a delightfully intimate performance and a wonderful feeling of friendship in the room.

You know when bands do 'secret gigs'? Usually performed in tiny venues and only announced at the last minute to fans who are used to seeing them play in arenas and stadiums... For me, it was a bit like that. Edinburgh audiences are likely to be a little bigger and Pleasance Two is a very different space to play. But I'll look back on last night as a wonderfully intimate version of a show which I think is going to be as big a success as Hugh's previous work, and has a long touring life ahead of it.

To book a ticket for 360 in Edinburgh, just click here. You can see Hugh Hughes in... 360 at 7.05pm at Pleasance Two from 5 to 31 August (no performances on the 11th or 17th).

Don't forget also to book your ticket for The Doubtful Guest, at Traverse from 18 to 30 August (no performance on 24th). Tickets are selling fast already (and I'm not just saying that!) so get in quick. Click here to book tickets and to see a full listing of performance dates and times.

The countdown to Edinburgh begins!

Our badges have arrived!

Woot! We've just received the next generation of Hugh Hughes badges! If you've seen a Hugh Hughes show before, you'll know that Hugh likes to give the audience something to remember him by.

The badge for Floating reads 'Hugh Hughes: feeling connected', for Story of a Rabbit we went for 'Here one minute, gone the next' and this time round your badge will read...

'Hugh Hughes: changing your perspective'

And I promise, 360 will! Hugh Hughes is charmingly odd but don't forget, he's also oddly wise....

The scan below doesn't really do just to the new design but it'll give you a flavour. Click here to book tickets for 360 in Edinburgh and then wear your badge with pride!

And don't forget, we're off to Reading in a few hours for the last 360 preview before Edinburgh... (Click here for details and to book tickets.)

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy budget teaser flyer / collage number two (above), proving that Hugh Hughes remains on the cutting edge of philosophical discourse.

Keeping it lo-fi

My bossy boss Simon is away this week and he didn't really leave me enough things to do. So, inspired by all the wonderful visual art I saw at Latitude over the weekend, and by the time I've spent in Hugh Hughes' rehearsal room this week, I've created some lo-fi 360 publicity to rival the stuff we had done by the professional designers.

(I think mine's better.)

This is one of many (I had lots of time - and Pritt Stick - to play with this morning!) so I'll post one a day until I've run out... They're all 360-related and will hopefully wet your appetite for the show!

We have one more preview performance of 360 to go, tomorrow (Thursday) evening at South Street Arts Centre in Reading at 8pm. Click here to book tickets for just £5 each.

And then we'll look forward to welcoming lots of you to the show in Edinburgh! Click here for all the performance details...

Latitude - our best ever wet weekend

Well we've just about dried off... And despite the rain, we had a fantastic weekend at Latitude! Hugh Hughes' special preview performance of 360 went down a storm and we all found time to see some brilliant acts.

My highlights were Grace Jones and The Gossip (and not just because I love strong women). Regina Spektor was fantastic and I fell in love with 1927 all over again (...more strong women).

Slightly further off the beaten track, we enjoyed the endearingly adolescent Ruby And Her Whorses, a super-subversive performance by David Hoyles and my favourite ever stand-up Andy Zalztman. (Choice one-liner: 'Don't complain about being eaten by a horse if you play polo dressed a sugar cube.')

Our most magical festival moment came on the opening night, in the form of La Reve, a commissioned performance by The Irrepressibles. Imagine an alternative baroque orchestra, with musicians dressed in Tim Burton (or even Edward Gorey)-esque costumes performing in the Human Music Box (pictured below) but at night, with the lights shimmering off the lake.


And I must also give a massive shout-out to the people running a shop stall which at night transformed into an unofficial jungle 'stage'. Dancing in the rain with twelve other people - all totally comitted members of the Junglist Massive - was a delight!

Most importantly, Hugh Hughes' performance in the Theatre Tent on Sunday was a great success. With so many other things on offer, it was to Hugh's great credit that the audience grew and grew as the show went on until the tent was absolutely packed. And 360 is in fantastic shape, with just one more preview to go before Edinburgh!

I should take this opportunity to say hello to Harvey, who Hugh invited on stage to play the role of Gareth. Harvey is eight, the same age as Gareth in the story Hugh wanted to tell, and he gave a great performance - thank you!


Don't forget that 360 will head to Reading's South Street Arts Centre on Thursday for a performance at 8pm, with tickets at just £5. Click here to book! We hope to see lots of you there.

Finally, Hoipolloi must thank everyone who made Latitude happen. It was a wonderful festival which we would all heartily recommend. And most importantly, thank you to Emma Bettridge and all at Pleasance for inviting us to be part of Latitude's Picks of the Pleasance season.