Time and the Ten O'Clock Train

By its very existence, the ten o'clock train to London has provided a pretty technical end to several comedy gigs I've seen in Norwich.

Sometimes it's flagged from the start, sometimes a glance at the watch in the second half leads the comedian to confess that they're going to have to finish in time to catch the ten o'clock train.

I assume it's because the ten o'clock train is the last one which gets into London that night and I happen to have seen several comedy Cinderellas who want to make it back before midnight.

(And I'd say this was a Norwich phenomenon but I suspect it happens anywhere within a roughly two hour "I-can-still-get-home-tonight" radius of London.)

So what, you might say?

Surely it's fair enough that a comedian - who presumably spends many nights on tour - takes every opportunity they can to get home, sleep in their own bed and spend time with their families?

And yes, that is fair enough.

But is it fair that the comedy gig I'm watching in Norwich is tainted by the slightly awkward sense that the comedian literally needs to get off so they can go somewhere else? At least Mark Watson, who has announced he's leaving on the ten o'clock train both times I've seen him in Norwich, tries to use the possibility of missing the train as a way of building the tension at the end of his set - but usually mentioning the train is about managing expectations and explaining the comedian's awkward clockwatching.

All I'm saying is it's just not that relaxing to watch someone glance at their watch while you're laughing at their jokes.

Of course, clockwatching isn't confined to comedians who want to get home that night. A lot of comedians, especially support acts, seem to struggle with how to keep track of time on stage without looking like they don't want to be there. Pulling a mobile out of your back pocket to check the time is right up there with pulling out a CD and telling us it's on sale in the foyer when it comes to awkward moments on stage.

But what can a comedian do?

Simple stuff like writing and rehearsing the set so it fits into the time slot and builds to a satisfying climax rather than a dash for a taxi. Or sorting out a signal with the technical crew which means 'ten minutes to go'. Or at least wearing a watch rather than pulling out a mobile or awkwardly asking the audience to keep track of time for you (this is the worst and is usually accompanied by a chirpy "How are we doing?").

They say comedy is all about timing - but if you really want the set to flow I think it's about elegantly keeping track of time too.