Making The Best Man

By Jon Benoy

My current stage of “I Am Writer Hear Me Roar” includes submitting anything that I feel I can write something worthwhile for, and – in turn – anywhere that is taking submissions. Yes, you feel a little sleazy at times, and occasionally you will sob in the shower, but actually I’d recommend it as a lean work mentality for writing.

Example: When I received an email from ComedyCrowd saying that I’d won the 2017 Sketch Writing Competition, I replied with something like: “Great news! But, hey, sorry, what was the specific piece called that won?”. With a few emails exchanged, I found out that my script, “The Truthful Best Man Speech” (the longwinded name would change multiple times), had won and was to be filmed by sketch company, Fat Lady Sings, in Ealing. The bit goes that in a somewhat askew reality, people tell a version of the truth; but deal with it in a manner of British self-loathing and awkwardness. In this example? A Groom who definitely probably isn’t in love with his new wife at all, and has made a truly awful decision.

Fat Lady Sings are a London based group made up of Doz and Omar; two very, very funny and professional gentlemen who clearly relish what they get to do. In the build up to the shoot, we would send emails back and forth, Bristol to London, discussing the piece, to try and nail out the idea and gather our small, but brilliant, cast and crew. We had to find A. Best Man, and B. My Wife to be.

Both easy enough now that I look back on it – we found Tom Cray through the ComedyCrowd Facebook Group, and Angela Chapman would play my bride (Angela has performed for me regularly: so much so that when I started seeing my current girlfriend this year, I straight up told her that “Angela would always be my on-screen girlfriend.”).

The day of the shoot came, and thankfully, having learnt from a Youtube background – low budget, but earnest scrambling to poke fun at society, for an extremely minimal fanbase (find me at “Hans H.S“) – gave me enough experience to know what I wanted from the day. Having been in Hackney the night before for Redgates Theatre’s, “Gateways” (another great experience, with a deadline coming up – Google them), Angela arrived and we met up with the extremely talented, Tom (and the face of comedy group, “ShameAloha“). The shoot was breezy and enjoyable – never have I had to say the word “Cunt” so many times – and we drank a damn load of Rosé. We then spent the whole rest of the day in our suits and were asked multiple times by punters in pubs if we’d just come from a wedding. To which we would reply; “Sort of”.

“The Best Man” can be seen at: https://www.facebook.com/flscomedy/videos/793451567521313/

And I can be followed at @JonnyJonJon1