COMEDY
listings
Comedy is listed by date, then by city. Shows will be listed, providing that details reach our offices at least ten da s in advance of publication. Come y listings compiled by Ellie Carr.
FRIDAY 21 Glasgow
Julian Clary Pavilion Theatre. 121 Renfield Street. 332 1846. 8pm. £13.50 (£12.50). Now he's on the BBC. your granny might go along to see the one- time hardcore camp comic who has ditched Fanny the Wonderdog and toned his act down to something that wouldn‘t go amiss in a Carry On film with gay tendencies. Ooh-err Mr — you know the kind of thing.
Edinburgh
The Stand The Tron Ceilidh House. Hunter Square. 220 1550. 9—1 1pm. Five acts for £5 (£4). Weekly. The well proportioned surprise hit of this year's Fringe. Johnny Vegas. returns to head up tonight‘s line-up at the thriving Friday night arm of this local comedy club with more of his unconventional. tip-front comedy. Sharing the bill. not to mention stage-space with Vegas. are South Yorkshire stand-up Mark Jackson. impersonater Gerry Grant and hostess with the mostest. Jane Mackay.
SATURDAY 22
Glasgow
Bob Downe The Pavilion, 121 Reniield Street. Glasgow. 0141 332 1846. 8pm. £10. The kitsch king of polyester returns. with songs and ditties on tacky topics to make your lava lamp flow over.
The Joke Box Mister P‘s Bar/Diner. 42 Wellmeadow Street. Paisley. 561 7117. 10pm—2am. Free. A full pint freebie night of comedy. every second Saturday. courtesy of Belliaven Best Of Comedy. Janey Godley competes.
Edinburgh
Viv And Jill’s Comedy Capers Gilded Balloon. 233 Cowgate. 226 6550. 8.30pm (doors 7.30pm). £5 (£4). New weekly comedy venture from the Gilded Balloon. hosted by funny gals Viv Gee and Jill Peacock and styled as a pot-luck variety evening. presumably not the Johnny Beattie kind of variety. but something far more post-modern and daft. On tonight's mix 'n‘ match bill. kids’ magician and entertainer Magic Bob with some adult stuff up his sleeves. Gordon Brunton and David Keay. See review, page 74.
SUNDAY 23
Glasgow
The Comic Club Blackfriars Underground. Blackfriars. 36 Bell Street. 552 5924. 9pm (doors 8.30pm). £5 (£3.50). Weekly. Magician Reg Anderson takes top spot at the busy comedy club. with able assistance from Allan Miller. Gary Hagen and mistress of ceremonies Viv Gee.
Edinburgh
Christie's Comedy Cellar WJ. Christie & Son. 27-31 West Port. 228 3765. 9.30pm (doors 8.30pm). £4. Sunday is the regular ‘new material night' in this new club. with improvisation. sketches and manic stand-up. Sharing tonight's bill with host Dave Williams are David Keay. with surreal musings on school. sex and shopping. Angus Cameron and that crazy guy Hugh Reed of Velvet Underpants fame.
Pint-Sized Comedy The Tron Ceilidh House. Hunter Square. 220 1550. 8—10pm. £2. New venture from Stand enterprises which promises a comedy playground for up-and-coming acts to test out material with the odd opening for circuit dinosaurs too. Putting the acts through the comedy hoops is Woody Allen lookalike Allan Miller. A fair gamble at £2. we say.
listings COMEDY
COMEDY CLUB REVIEW ' I»
The Stand
Edinburgh: The Canon’s Gait, Thursdays ‘k at: a: a:
A new, though hardly radically different, setting for this peripatetic club. A new basement in a new pub. However, this is a considerably ‘~\ bigger, better basement to launch a new Thursday night fixture, at which The Stand will see in the new yean
And what a way to kick off, with a headliner of the calibre of Johnny Vegas, shortlisted for the Perrier Award at this year‘s Edinburgh Fringe. The publicity is quick to remind us that his first appearance was at The Stand, and he acts as a mascot for the club’s true . aspirations, a kind of shambolic brilliance. An unpolished diamond, alone in, 3- the comedy coalfield. A sardonic speakeasy in a time of po~faced \ '_ prohibition. Sorry about that - Johnny's tortuous metaphors are infectious. ’ 5
But never mind the easily tarnished glitz of awards ~ what eisecan The Stand offer you? Susan Morrison, a compere who isn’t satisfied until she has}. found out where everyone is from, what their names are, what their relationship is to each other, whether anyone needs to go to the toiiet and how we're all getting home.
lnterspersing all this conviviality are homegrown talents such as Mark Bratchpiece, a man whose act is so cunningly understated you might believe he'd walked onstage for a bet. In only her second appearance, Glaswegian Ria Din took the open spot with remarkable assurance. Bathgate's Bill Dewar showed the advantages of simply being naturally funny, while the manic Allan Miller will obviously not rest until he has infected everyone in central Scotland with his hyperactive hysteria.
All contributed to an atmosphere that was amplified by Johnny Vegas. it takes a certain amount of class for a guy to eschew larger gigs and return to the clubs that spawned him, then not simply repeat his attentionvarresting Fringe show. However, as he said himself, The Stand 'isn't about bums on seats; it’s about smiles on faces.‘ (Rory Ford)
Going back to his roots: Johnny
COMEDY CLUB REVIEW
The Velvet Rooms Glasgow, fortnightly, Thursdays it ‘k i ‘k After nearly a year's sabbatical, regular fortnightly stand-up makes a return to the Velvet Rooms. On Thursday 13 November, the small but perfectly formed audience were entertained by an eclectic range of four acts. Our host was that refeshingly down-to-earth Glaswegian John Gillick. His brand of everyman humour makes him an ideal compere. But don’t sit near the front if you want to be left alone. First up was The Stand's Jane Mackay. Taking to the stage in a
Norman tovett: 'champion of deadpan'
tartan suit that would have made Marti Fellow blush, she delivered a finely balanced mix of self-deprecation, put~downs and incisive humour.
After a simple but effective ode to a bad haircut by poet Robert Knox, we were treated to the charming John Flint, a specialist in gloriously exaggerated, witty wordplay, served up at breakneck pace. Definitely someone to watch out
for in future.
Headlining was Norman Lovett, the undisputed champion of deadpan. Here is a comic so glum, he makes Jack Dee look positively effervescent. Roger Daltrey mic-twirling impressions aside, self-confessed ’babe-magnet' Lovett was his usual impeccable self, getting laughs with all the ease of a consummate professional. His unmissable meanderings touched on spinach, flying fish and the madness of TV weather girl Suzanne Charlton, plus dogs, life on the edge and Tony Blair‘s Ministry of Happiness. He finished on an epic anecdote about the trials and tribulations of travelling on the East Coast intercity.
This stylish venue is ideal for stand up, although there is not a piece of velvet to be seen anywhere. An impressive line-up, in smart surroundings at a fiver a throw. Very good value for money, and well worth a look. (Scott Montgomery)
THURSDAY 27 SATURDAY 29
Glasgow Glasgow Velvet Rooms 520 Sauchichall Street. Felix Dexter Tron Theatre. 63 Trongate.
Comedy returns to the Velvet Rooms and fantastical tales from hightly
with this fortnightly night of acts big and regarded comedian and actor Dexter.
small. Lined up for laughs tonight: spot- Cosy Comedy Cafe State Bar
on comic poet Hovis Presley with (downstairs) Holland Street. Charing
support from Manctmian Lucy Porter. Cross. 332 2159. 8.30pm—midnight. £4.
recently seen on Channel 4‘s (itlx, plus Fortnightly. The laidback comedy club is
Leither Kevin Spence and compere John enjoying a temporary move from Java
Gillick. See review. this page. Internet Cafe to stand-up‘s spiritual home . — the basement of a local boozer. Expect
Edlnburgh the satne format of comics from Glasgow
Christie's Comedy Cellar \\'..l. (‘hristie and further afield and a bar on the
& Son. 27—31 West Port. 228 3765. premises to boot.
9.30 m (doors 8.30 m). £4. New club on .
the ciiirrently thrivitig local comedy Edinburgh
scene. this week featuring flame-haired Viv And Jill's Comedy Capers Gilded
Joint Flint with politically-tired material. Balloon. 233 Cowgate, 226 6550.
Joe lieenan and Kenny Harris. Tonight's 8.30pm (doors 7.30pm). £5 (£4). See
host with the most is biker Gordon Sat 22. Tonight‘s Comedy Caperers are
Brunton. one of the best-known faces on Sandy Nelson. mad master of voodoo
the Scottish circuit. See review. page 74. Reg Anderson and Mick Parkin. See
The Stand Canon's Gait. 232 Canongate. review, this page.
Royal Mile. 556 4481. ‘)---1 1pm. At least
four acts for £4 (£3). New home for The Glasgow
Stand's Thursday night comedy club.
with the promise of all the usual fun and
games and cheap beer into the bargain. The Comic Club Blackfriars
Tonight's line-up includes Mancunian Underground. Blackfriars. 36 Bell
Lucy Porter. who hotfoots it from Street. 552 5924. 9pm (doors open
Glasgow's Velvet Rooms for tonight's 8pm). £5 (£3.50). Weekly. On tonight‘s
show. East Kilbride comedy club line-up at the long-running comedy club, Martin Bigpig leads wth way with shocks and surprises. while Jimmy
compere Kevin Devine. Brian llennigan.
Colin Ramon and resident compete Mooney and Max Sharpe follow on behind.
Susan ivlorrison. See review. this page. FRIDAY 28 Edinburgh Christie's Comedy Cellar WJ. Christie
Edinburgh
The Stand The 'l‘ron (‘eilidh House. & Son. 27—31 West Port, 228 3765. Hunter Square. 220 1550. ‘)--1 1pm. Five 9.30pm (doors 8.30pm). £4. See Sun 23. acts for £5 (£4). ()n tonight's hill. ()n tonight‘s bill: Stuart Potter. Kevin excellent comic poet Hovis Presley. Spence. Joe Heenan and compere Dave ivlanctmian lass l.uc_v Porter. lidinburgh‘s Williams. own Alan McQueen and compere Jane Mackay. known for her ability to strike fear into the heart of a lieckler at a thousand paces.
| 332 0755. 8.30pm (doors 8pm). £5. i 552 3748. 8pm. £8 (£6). Satirical humour I
Continued over page
21 Nov-4 Dec i997THEUST73