Mike Birbiglia's Girlfriend's Boyfriend

I saw Mike Birbiglia's show 'My Girlfriend's Boyfriend' on Tuesday night. It's a masterclass in storytelling performance. And as funny as most anything I've seen. Honest and painful, with act-outs, anecdotes and asides, shifting back and forth in time, Birbigs takes us from before his first kiss right up to more recent life-changing romantic encounters.

Quit writing, you loser

Alternate title: shut up and focus.

This is a great blogpost that has given me barrel-loads of ironic advice and reminded me just how awesome Ron Swanson is.

So I'm off to do some writing.

Slapdash Improv Festival

London's Slapdash International Festival runs from 5-10 June

The improv scene here is in mid-explosion and London needs a big international improv festival. Companies like Showstopper, and Austentatious and events like last weekend's 50-hour Improvathon have been getting mainstream comedy plaudits and David Shore's improv classes have been drawing in stand-ups and sketch comedians by the bushel-load.

Plus there are weekly improv nights courtesy of The Wilmops, GTI, Hoopla and of course London Improv; there is tonnes of stuff happening.

But what I thought was missing was a collaborative sustained festival, a place to showcase styles and things that people are working on, here and abroad, and share skills and generally meet up with people from all over and work and share the craft. A festival of improv, if you will.

And I believe you will.

Beard info: knowledge is power

I don't know if you've noticed, but lately I've been rocking a look that can be described as 'seriously semi-bearded'. It may not be particularly luscious or full, but it is almost certainly a beard.

Nobody's Perfect (Excursions)

Me, "Possessed of what the French call an 'I don't know what'" (Photo by Jinni Lyons)

Tuesday night was the third run out of Excursions at Tamesis Dock. Part rap, jazz, hip hop and funk classics night on a boat, part hangout with music enthusiasts, and part marvel of musical and lyrical skill, it is even more than the sum of its parts.

Thanks MCA

On Friday Adam Yauch, AKA MCA of The Beastie Boys, passed away at 47, of cancer. I don't need to eulogize too much, because there are already some great tributes out there, like this in the LA Times, this from the Beastie Boys website, and Nathan Rabin's piece on the A.V. Club. And many more besides; everybody was a fan of the Beastie Boys. Even a grieving China has freed Tibet, following news of his death.