Posted by Ian on 2010-02-06
Recently I had done, although I say it myself, rather a good set. And after the show had finished the compere said to me: "they were a very good audience tonight, weren't they?" Normally I wouldn't have thought more about it - but this same compere had made exactly the same comment a few months before.
As I was leaving the venue, someone else said the same thing to me: "very good audience tonight." My reaction was rather defensive: "but they are always a good audience here", I retorted. He shook his head - "not always", he replied, "they can be very difficult."
It was only when I was going home that I clicked: both magicians were essentially downplaying my own achievements by putting the credit of the performance on the audience rather than me.
Maybe they were right: but I did feel like quoting Gary Player's dictum when told he had been very lucky with a particular golf shot. "Yes, and the more I practise, the luckier I seem to get."
As I was leaving the venue, someone else said the same thing to me: "very good audience tonight." My reaction was rather defensive: "but they are always a good audience here", I retorted. He shook his head - "not always", he replied, "they can be very difficult."
It was only when I was going home that I clicked: both magicians were essentially downplaying my own achievements by putting the credit of the performance on the audience rather than me.
Maybe they were right: but I did feel like quoting Gary Player's dictum when told he had been very lucky with a particular golf shot. "Yes, and the more I practise, the luckier I seem to get."
