The show was created between 2002 and 2004, when Barnaby was living in Leeds, England. It was developed through many hours of improvisation and collaboration with director Sue Morrison, during which the themes and structure of the show slowly emerged. Many many hours and pages of material ended up on the cutting room floor as the script was pared down to its essence: the story of someone who desparately wants to be wonderful, the best, but always sabotages his own great efforts. He literally drags his baggage around with him in the form of a full-sized piano - a technical marvel created by set designer Russell Dean - that looks and sounds like a real piano but is actually a hollow shell with an electronic keyboard built in.

In 2004 the show premiered at the Workshop Theater in Leeds, and from there Barnaby hauled his piano onto an aeroplane and flew straight to Canada where he toured the fringe festivals during the summer of that year: Toronto, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver. He even managed to get in a few shows in Portland, Oregon.

During 2005/06, the piano returned to the UK, and the show toured to small theatres, village halls, community centres, the length and breadth of the country.

In 2007, Barnaby toured the show in South America, performing at Mapa Teatro in Colombia, in Manizales, Medellin, and the Festiclaun festival in Chiclayo, Peru. Although this is nominally the same show, it was significantly adapted for the Spanish-speaking audience. As well as being in Spanish, the show also took on a different aesthetic, as Barnaby replaced his full-sized piano with a miniature toy piano that was a little easier to transport.

Since then, living in the USA, the show has been seen in venues across the country: New York Clown Festival, Minneapolis, Iowa, and Boulder Fringe Festivals, Someday Lounge and Theater Theater! in Portland.