Touring with support

Becoming a solo comedy headliner often involves a support crew, too.

One of the nicer things about making a bit of a splash on the country's comedy consciousness is getting a choice when it comes to gigging. Hopefully as a hard-working comic you eventually reach a stage where you can headline your own shows, after years of playing at other people's, and be well-known enough to tour around the regions, too.

Perhaps those shows will go well enough that you then get to pick and choose where you actually play, aiming for the places that were full and particularly responsive. Then, if things go smoothly enough, you can also make a change that clearly makes a major difference to the touring experience for many acts: a tour manager.

It can be quite a culture shock, when you first go for the gamble of moving away from the lottery of the mixed-bill circuit to embark on your own tours. Getting your own dressing room must be nice at first (particularly if you've got boisterous kids at home): you can take a chance on whatever weird-looking Netflix show you fancy, read up on how to win at Blackjack, or grab a nap, even. Win win win.

But as the tour continues it might also be nice to get a bit of company, and a handy distraction, rather than sit there and risk letting the demons of doubt in (comedians are not always the best-adjusted people, hence the need to seek affirmation from an audience every night). Getting your own pre-show peace and quiet might seem like a career result, but the energy shift from sitting on your own in a little windowless room to suddenly turning it on for a theatre full of people must be tricky, sometimes.

Now the role of the tour manager probably seems a bit of a mystery for most of us: what do they actually do? Driving to and from the shows seems to be a big part of it, and checking logistical stuff with the venue beforehand, the lighting cues and any other technical elements; perhaps even finding somewhere decent for a pre-show meal? Maybe sorting the merch, for those comics who sell stuff after their shows. And dealing with any journalists who want a chat before or afterwards (before or afterwards tends to vary from comic to comic, too).

The other option for the lonely touring jester is a support act, of course, and you can't help but wonder if the headline comics sometimes delegate a bunch of tour-manager jobs onto their warm-up person, who'd gladly take it all on in return for a chance to test themselves in front of a sizeable crowd.

You'd pick someone who'd be keen to do the driving, perhaps, even though they'd be on first. Actually the sensible headliner-and-support driving set-up would be headliner drives there, support act drives back, when you think about it. But then a lot of comics don't drive at all, which must be a factor too.

So, if you've ever seen a support act who seemed wildly inappropriate for the headliner, and wondered how on earth that happened: they're probably thoroughly entertaining company offstage, and an excellent driver to boot.