The Outside Eye

Dec Munro is an expert, Edinburgh award-winning director who lives in London (and co-founder of the Bill Murray pub in London – https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/bill-murray/). Have him cast an eye over your show – with a preview slot and proper workshopping time included.

About the session:

The focus of the session is driven by the priority of the performer/s but would generally include structural advice, helping make a show more distinctive to the writer, developing/extending jokes and adding toppers/callbacks etc, mapping a realistic timeline to the Fringe, and brainstorming further creative ideas for your show.

Where the performer/s already has the show in some sort of rough shape this would likely involve watching a run through at the Bill Murray (or elsewhere), taking extensive notes, and then spending 90 minutes to 2 hours afterwards working through these.

For shows that are at an earlier stage of development, Dec can help with the writing process, with motivation, encouragement and excellent advice.

About Dec Munro:

Dec Munro has directed and produced stand up shows since 2015. The first show he directed, “Bubblewrap” by Sofie Hagen, won the Newcomer prize at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe and in 2019 it toured again. He’s also worked on full shows by

Ellie Taylor – The Mash Report, Live at The Apollo, QI, Mock the Week
Andrew Hunter Murray – Austentatious, The Mash Report
Mawaan Rizwan – Live at the Apollo
Alasdair Beckett-King – Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2017
Angela Barnes – Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, Newsjack,

and has recently started to offer an outside eye on shows in development. He’s also helped work up sets for UK and US TV shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC) and Conan (TBS).

As a producer Dec has co-produced the annual “For Robin” benefit gig for Mind/SAMH in Edinburgh with Isabelle Adam since 2015, and produced benefit gigs in London for Help Refugees, Shakespeare Schools Foundation and Stand Up to Cancer. He is proud of the money these events have raised for the charities.

Prior to directing, Dec has been involved in comedy since his University days, and was on the committee of the Footlights comedy club, where he also performed. After moving to London, he ran a monthly gig called “Test Tube Comedy” at the Canal Café for three years, a mixed-bill show which he also took up to the Edinburgh Fringe. As a performer/facilitator/”hype man”, Dec helped Test Tube’s “semi resident house lunatic” Ben Target with his show “Discover” for a short Edinburgh run in 2011 and full run in 2012, where it was nominated for the Best Newcomer award. Dec was on the Edinburgh Fringe Participant’s Council for a number of years, and that urge to help both performers and audiences led in 2016 to him – alongside friends Sarah, Barry, and Rachel – buying the lease of an Islington pub, and setting up the Bill Murray comedy venue https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/bill-murray/) which won Chortle’s best small comedy venue in London in 2017 and Chortle’s Best London Comedy Venue in 2018.

Testimonials

Working with Dec Munro was one of the best things I ever did for my comedy career. He will see through your bullshit, he will be blunt and honest and he will make you into the best version of yourself. I am never funnier or more productive than when I am in the company of Dec.”
Sofie Hagen (Fully directed – “Bubblewrap” & “Shimmer Shatter”)

“Dec is the perfect balance of honest and supportive. He lets you steer the show creatively whilst guiding you to find the structure. He is skilled in knowing how to make a show bullet proof.”
Mawaan Rizwan (Fully directed – “Juice”)

“Dec took my show when it was a formless lump of wet cement and helped me craft it into a soaring, art-deco monument that will last for centuries, providing the authorities see fit to preserve it for the sake of generations to come. I’d have him direct my commute to work if I had the budget for it.”
Andrew Hunter-Murray (Fully directed – “Round One”)

“Working with Dec was a really positive experience. He has supported me with advice on the structure and content of my shows but also has been invaluable with emotional support that is needed with creating a new show. He is one of the most genuine people I’ve met within the comedy world and is totally invested in both you and what you’re trying to create. He’s a wonderful person to have in your corner.”
Ellie Taylor (Fully directed “Infidelliety” & “This Guy”)

“I’d have no hesitation in saying the show I ended up producing would not have been anywhere near what it was without Dec’s help. Crucially he gave me a structure that focused the themes of the show and allowed me to place pieces of material in an order that lead to the show having a narrative arc, or a ‘through line’. I also can’t stress enough how much funnier he made it; he pointed out opportunities for toppers on jokes, highlighted where further call backs could be used and, importantly, encouraged me to avoid taking easy routes to laughs where more interesting jokes could be developed. These sessions were crucial to me in developing work that is distinctive to me as an act, as well as beneficial to my own understanding of my voice as a writer performer, and I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Jacob Hawley (Outside Eye)

“I can’t recommend Dec Munro enough. He really opened my eyes to the key things I personally needed to do to bring more depth and originality to my work. He instantly put me at ease and I felt like I could talk to him about anything. In just one session I came out feeling so much more inspired and so much more confident about the next stages of the creative process that I needed to embark on and explore.”
Zahra Barri (Outside Eye)

“I cannot recommend Dec Munro highly enough. He directed my 2017 and 2018 shows and they were both all the better for it. Dec has an incredible eye for structure and for teasing out the themes when you are lost in a forest of jokes and can’t see the wood for the trees. He is also such a positive influence to have around, helping to give you a realistic idea of where you are at and what you need to do to get your show to where you want it to be. His feedback is measured, insightful, never superfluous and ALWAYS useful, in fact it’s almost annoying how much he is right about things. He has not only a great sense of comedy, but a great sense of drama and storytelling that can lift a good show and make it a much better one.”
Angela Barnes (Fully directed “Fortitude” & “Rose Tinted”)

“Working with Dec completely changed the way I thought about my show and who it was for. Dec is totally honest about what works and what doesn’t, and I left the sessions with tons of ideas about what I needed to do to clarify the structure, narrative, and the character. The sessions were inspiring, full of information, and absolutely the best thing I did for my show.”
Delea Shand (Outside Eye)