When I went to pick up my folders from my accountant earlier this year, he looked at me with a smile and said ‘2023 var inget bra år, eller hur?’ (‘2023 wasn’t a great year, was it?’), to which I replied: ‘Wait until you see the result for 2024!’
And as predicted, business wise, 2024 wasn’t a great year. Speaking to other people, and other companies in the same branch, I’m not sure anyone had a ‘great’ year, and my 2024 had its peaks and troughs like any other year - It definitely dipped in the middle.
The year started positively with big hopes for Laughing Stock, my English stand up night in Stockholm - (Started in 2015 and I still think, a brilliant play on words …. COME ON!). The venue, The Park Södra, was perfect. It was in the middle of Södermalm, with a permanent stage, lighting, a good flow of Swedes and non Swedes during the day and most importantly, very enthusiastic positive people working there. All was good until late spring when it was announced that the venue was rapidly going bust! This was the same week that I had a well paid corporate stand up gig cancelled and got rejected for a gold standard voiceover. To add insult to injury, I also got three punctures on the same wheel on my bike in the same week. It was as though the Gods were testing me!
I sat down and decided to list all the positives and work out what opportunities I had and realised that there were lots of pluses. Working at The Park Södra, I had established loads of new international friends and contacts. I had been asked to run a few workshops on comedy, mental health and team building which I really enjoyed (and dare I say it was quite good at!) and which had all got great feedback! 2024 has been the year of becoming a regular workshop runner, and it’s been fun!
I’ve also been coaching a couple of performers, to improve their acts and the structure of their shows. Again, very rewarding and a good way to learn more about how comedy works.
I thought about what kind of comedy I wanted to be doing and realised that I still really wanted to explore the story of the first elephant to come to Sweden. I booked a series of three work in progress nights at Teaterverket for the autumn, which gave me the kick up the proverbial backside to work out the structure for the show Elephant Riot. The shows went really well and the piece has developed in a way that I am very happy with. I’ll be doing it again in 2025 and looking for more places to perform!
A note about comedy is that I also worked on a character that I’ve had up my sleeve for a while and now I bring on the hapless Brummie, fez-donning magician Colin Thinn whenever possible.
I also got the opportunity of a new venue for Laughing Stock - Through some Impro friends who run an Impro night, I got offered the chance to run stand up night in tandem with their nights at The Liffey in Gamla Stan (Stockholm’s Old Town). The venue is much smaller which means a smaller budget, but also makes it much easier to fill and the atmosphere is perfect with low ceilings and beer on tap.
I made some contacts up north and did a very mini tour called ‘Ben Kersley’s Slapdash Tour Of Sweden’ which was a good excuse to visit Umeå and Skellefteå in the north of Sweden.
2024 has also involved doing a number of fun voiceovers for new and old clients, appearing in an ad for a charity that was filmed in Stockholm and shown in the UK, and also filming a short film with a bunch of students at the Stockholm film school. I also got roped in to the Linköping ballet, which happens to me every three years or so!
I have also spent the last part of the year studying a course called ‘Koncept Utveckling Inom Kultur Sektorn’, (Concept development in the culture sector), a distance course with a load of creative people from all over Sweden. We’ve covered all sorts of things from marketing, to law, to business development. I’ve not only learnt a lot, but the course has widened my perspectives and network, and I feel ready to add the title ‘consultant’ to my job description.
Lastly, I’ve also started working part time at a place in Gamla Stan called On Air, hosting their game shows in English and Swedish. It’s a wonderfully positive place to work and it’s been a pleasure not only performing the shows for diverse audiences at their studio and out on the road, but also hanging out with the other comedians, musical artists and entertainers who work there - Great to feel at home with all the other misfits!
That’s more or less it for 2024
The year ahead is ripe and ready for everything including stand up, comedy, workshops, presenting, voiceover, coaching and consulting! I’ll even be heading to Denmark for a couple of weeks in the spring thanks to a grant from the Goethe Institute called ‘Culture Moves Europe’ .
Bring on 2025!
