FGABARET
FRIDAY 1
I Durty Jokes 46 West George Street. Glasgow. 041 63‘) 6669. Doors open 7.30pm for 8pm show. £5 (£4). The latest club to join the ever-expanding Glasgow cabaret circuit promises several di‘fcrcnt comics each night twice a week. Aimingat an adult market. {)urry'Jokcv features a mix of new and established names from both Glasgow and further afield. Amongst the comedians on tonight‘s bill are Newcastle d: ag act Greta L‘Amour and local stand-tip Billy lcifries.
I The Comedy Shop The Shelter. 7 Rent'iwf‘iu't. Reinfr'w'.‘Chambers, Glasgow till 153/ Bl . Doorsopm H.30pm for (.1717; :11. £4.50 (£3.51). Your host tonight is Bob 0 who'll be marshalling the laughs for an excelled.
mix of local and national comedy talent. Fringe favourite and star oi'the London circuit, Jack Dee will be joined by Phil Collins look-alike Fred Macauley and the Trio Bros Troupe vs ho. for reasons best known to themselves. have lost the ‘Three Men from their moniker. More ofthc same in Edinburgh tomorrow.
I Tony Neason Bai‘itl Assembly Rooms 54 George Street. Edinburgh. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). The second of two night 4. oi pre-Spring Fling musical cabaret irom the Wildcat singer and TV star. w ho ll be telling the odd one-liner with her mixed
THEATRE LIST
bag of songs.
SATURDAY 2 ,
I Durty Jokes 46 West George Street. Glasgow. (MI 639 666%). Doorsopen 7.30pm for 8pm show. £5 (£4). Second helping of adult comedy this week from Glasgow‘s newest stand-up club. Amongst the names pencilled in for tonight‘s gigare drag act Greta L’Amour and local comics Joe Camay and Gerry Starr.
I Cavern Comics Clyde Cavern. Clyde Place (just over Jamaica Bridge), Glasgow. 9.30pm. £2. Resident juggiers Up For Grabs return after a bi'icfbreak and they're joined bv improvisersTheatre
Nepotism. local stand-up Paul Bistro and
Funny Farmer Stu |\rchonald who has just
i had a highly thought ot'children'sstorv ' hook published. See Review.
I The Gilded Balloon 233 Lowgatc. Edinburgh, 03] 225. 6364. Doors open 8.30pm iorQ 30pm. £4.50(£3.50). Yesterday first-tale llllC-lip at the Comedy Shop heads cast substituting be-shaded Funny Farmer Stu Who'.’ for Fred Macaulay
THURSDAY 7
l The Funny Farm Spread lt Around Wester llails Education Centre, 5 Murrayburn Drive-.Edinburgh.8.500.150). Glasgow's comedy collective comes east to celebrate Spring Hing With a series of dates around Edinburgh.
FRIDAY, 8
I Durty Jokes 46 West George Street. Glasgow. 04] 639 (>669. Doorsopeii 7.30pm for 8pm show. £5 (£4 ). Another helping oi risque humour from a broad mix of stand-up comics in Glasgow's newest club,
I The Centre at the Universe l’leasance Ba r The Pleasance. Edinburgh. 8.30pm. Taking the lead trom the rapid expansion of comedy clubs in Glasgow. nmsical comedy duo [he l’arma V'iolents help in
redress the balance on the east coast by ( setting up a new venture to showcase comedy. music and cabaret. Joining Susan and l lcidi Violent tonight are musical groups The Winterbairns and The Fiances. Mark McDonnell is the compcre . I The Funny Farm Spread it Around Rosebci'i v, Hall. High Street. South (Jueensferry. £2.50(£i .50). See Thurs7.
I The Height 0' Nonsense Cabaret Ratho Community Centre. School Wy nd. Ratho 50p (25p). 7pm. 'l'wo comediansioin up with a musician for an evening that gives traditional Scottish variety entertainment ‘ a contemporary edge. Feminine wit and visual humour.
SATURDAY 9
I puny Jokes 46 West George Street. Glasgow . 041 63‘) (m9. Doorsopen 7.30pm for ts’pm show. £5 (£4). See Fri 8 I The Comic Club Blackfriars. 45 Albion Street. Merchant City. Glasgow. 553 592-1. 9pm. £4.50 (£3.50). Baropen 8.30pm--midnight.
: cabaret t'rom l’igioot. tentative first steps
‘ I Comic Club llllpTDV Hint lslli.tl\. l.‘
041553 5934 hdtlpio. Li 50 l‘unny‘barm regulars think on their ieet lll their
MONDAY 11 ,
; THURSDAY 14
An intriguing line-up tonight as the Comic Club returns after a short break for redeeoration. Mtisical parody from the Brooclauners. sophisticated Berlin
for a mystery New Comic and two shotsat improvisation from a crack team of four lunny Farmers who will also be helping out on the compere front.
I Joke 80! Bar Point. 43 Wellmcadow ' Street. Paisley. 0.11 88‘) 5158. 8.30pm. Tonight's comic isl outs .‘ylcl cod (aka Boris Vespa) and musical entertainment is provided by guitarist Rik Martin.
The Funny Farm Spread It Around Sprlngyy'cll llouse Arts Centre. Ardmillan Terrace Edinburgh. {350({1 50), See Thurs?
SUNDAY 10 ' .
l
\li‘ion \‘tsc ct \lcrcnant t ll\ . I. ilasgoys
fortnightly bout ol impioy isation.
I The Height 0‘ Nonsense Cabaret ('raigmillar ArtsCentrc. Neweraighall Road. il .50 (75p). Hjilpm. See l‘iriS.
I The Kll Kat CIUD illaekll lal's. <15 Albion Street. Merchant City. Glasgow .04] 55; {92-3 9pm {-1.50 (L550) Butopen 5.30pm midnight. Recommended prc~yyai Berlin style cabaret with bingo. breadsticks and l’igioot. Camp and atmospheric.
I The Funny Farm Spread it Around‘l Tilinglc Arts Centre. West l’ilton Bank. lidinburgh. 7.30pm. Sec Thurs 7.
I Moving Parts and The Height 0' Nonsense (‘lovcnstone Community Centre. 54 Cloyens‘tone Park. lidinburgh. £1 (50p) Comedy double-bill lot Spring Flingasthc Nl lS is exposed by .‘ylos ing Parts and traditional cabaret entertainment dished out by The Height 0' Nonsense.
millili— CAVERN COMICS
Seen on 19 May at The Clyde Cavern. Shows are every lortnight, next 2 June. ‘Aye, it may no’ he the iunniest thing in the world, but there‘s nae way you'd get me up there thinking on ma teet like that.‘ So spake Dave, standing nextto me watching Theatre Nepotism, The Clyde Cavern's resident improv group. Dave may well be on the way to a liourishing career in the diplomatic corps. lorTheatre Nepotlsm epitomised the sad depths oi contemporary comedy.
The audience lost interest in each at the company's games in an average ol 30 seconds. Carelul contemplation would normally lead to the conclusion that this is more ol 3 reliection on the watchers than the players, it being impossible to improvise comedy when an audience linds more entertainment in its own conversation than your perlormance. But not in this case. Defying convention, l rejected Dave’s (more entertaining) repartee and braved routines which had all the cutting edge at a plastic spatula. Every game was directly titted lrom ‘Whose Line is it Anyway’ (lack ot originality), the company played to themselves
more than the crowd (lack oi technique)
and, worst at all, each periormance was about as lunny as an attack at gangrene (lack oi talent). lithe audience was rode, it had every right to be.
Preceding this ‘highilght' had been newcomer John Paul Leach - who has the llkeable habit oi relerring to notes when he iorgets his routine — and compere Parrot. Both olthese, especially the latter-who managed, miraculously, to regain the audience’s attention alter the shortened Nepotism routine - were entertaining enough. In lacl, they were just what you want in a late evening comedy bar- earthy. occasionally obscene and, against your better nature, iunny.
The venue ltsell joins The Tron and
Parrot
The Arches as a Richter venue —overhead trains periodically shaking the walls- but in spite at this and a leg-straining absence ol chairs, it does have more potential (and space) than the other Glasgow cabaret venues. This potential could be most immediately realised with the lorced retirement oi a certain improv group. (Philip Parr)
[BEET— SHIP or FOOLS
Seen at Biacktriars. Glasgow, 22 May. It had to happen. As new bars and clubs ' open their doors to stand-up comedy and welcome in various coniigurations oi the Funny Farm, someone was bound to setup Comedy Collective NumberTwo. Enter Ship oi Fools. Glasgow’s second rag-bag ol stand-ups.
A mixed evening oi short sets are nicely iramed by acoustic guitarist Marcus Price who kicks oil the proceedings with a peculiar song oi manic obsession - anyone lor psycho-silly?—and returns alter the interval to make much sense at Costello's ‘God's Comic' —an l achievement in itseli. Getting the right balance at comedians is always tricky and to start all with a musician is a good way to give a gig some structure.
; hours later with JJ, whose act is
These early gains are leopardised. however, by rounding oil the gig two
sloppin executed and in need ol locus.
Pleasant enough, but not exactly a bill-topper. Earlier on, Gary Hagan makes two appearances with material that treads perilously close to the dreaded ‘isms‘ olsex and race— something the Funny Farm would never 1 allow— but lor the most part aims at solt targets and gets accordingly hall-hearted laughs.
Showing most potential are David Kilby and to a lesser extent Johnny Condom. who make an eilort to break , out at the conventional joke-telling mould. Kilby turns up as an insurance salesman, complete with suit and clip-board. makes some promising gags about being boring, but doesn't , developthe idea larenough and l quickly slips back into a standard : routine. Condom looks like a drowned rat and has a comparable l0, but needs ,
; to love hiscaricature more ilheisto 5' i milkitlorrealcomedy. '
Standing out trom the crowd is Frank Boyle, the weil~hung Julie Andrews. 3 young comic with abroad vision and a surprisingly well behaved tan club. Still a little nervous, his material is nonetheless conlident. imaginative and very iunny. (Mark Fisher)
58 The List 1 ~ l4 June 1990
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