COMEDIANS' BLOG: some shows a born from design, some are born from chaos. Guess which doctrine Tim Fitzhigham signs up to

• Read instalment 1 of Tim's EiF blog

Is it Friday already? Terrifying.

I’ve been totally absorbed and utterly locked into getting the show up and running. It is always the unbelievable gut-churningly awful part about doing shows based on a project: will you have an ending? Will the ending be good? For those who write jokes, there’s total control over the ending of the joke. For those of us (it could just be me) who throw the dice, start a project/plan and hope; there is absolutely no control and you just have to cross everything that something will happen and that the thing that happens makes people laugh.

This year I’ve gambled not only the opening to my show (see here for details, but also involved Alex Horne (always a gamble) and a flock of untried and untested pigeons. What could possibly go wrong?

The Royal Pigeon Racing Association phoned on the day of the first preview show with shocking news, which changed things fundamentally.

Then at 5pm, with the show about to start at 7.30pm, Horne phoned to provide a complete show-stopping alteration to his bit … I’m not going to lie to you London is Funniers – to a mind already trying to order brand spanking new material for a genuine preview anyway, having these two fundamental shifts just hours before the show was less than ideal.

But that is the danger of doing a show based on a true story of a stupid plan. I’d love to say I am a legend and the first preview show was flawless. It was not, I’d say it was rocky – the audience pulled me through. However, last night (the second preview) the show worked (and I think we can now refer to it as a show rather than a loose collection of ideas).

It did what I hoped it might and that’s what I hope for. There are always things to tweak – if I’d got it right in two performances, I’d be Spike Milligan. And I’m not. But yesterday’s preview is something I’d be happy to show to any of you that would like to come. This is now a gamble that’s well worth a punt!

Tim Fitzhigham – Stop the Pigeon is on at 7.30pm at the Pleasance Courtyard