with drinks or a meal. Freestyle funniness and hangover-banishing antics from resident duo Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy.
Connolsseurs’ Collection - Stewart Lee The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £7 (£6). The razor- sharp cynic who makes up one half of Lee and Herring returns to Edinburgh with an extended set. See preview.
Kirkcaldy
Fife Comedy Club Path Tavern. Mid Street. 01592 263671. 8.30pm. £4 (£3). 1.ikeable observations from Joe Heenan in a hill which includes Lil. Sneddon. Shtig Gray and resident hosts Joon Broon and John Sinclair.
Edinburgh
Red Raw The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £1. Host James Ferguson and headliner Fin MacArthur take their turn at shepherding the comedy newcomers through their routines.
Tuesday 26
Edinburgh Skitters The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8pm. £5 (£4). See Sun 24.
Wednesday 27
Glasgow
The Ad le Comedy Club Ad Lib. 111 Hope Street. 357 5387. 8pm. £3. Filling at Wed night laughter void. this new weekly club plays host to Gerry Grant. Chris Broomlield and Cormac Quinn.
Edinburgh
Crazy Cabaret The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8pm. £4 (£3). A pic ‘n' mix of comedy. magic. characters. sketches and madness. Join Reg Anderson. Steven Dick and John Sinclair for an inspired menu of gags. served tip to heat those midweek blues.
Reg Anderson’s Fun Quiz Night The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9.30pm. £1 to play. Pit your wits against host Reg Anderson for the chance to win cash and prizes.
Dunfermline
Dumfermline Comedy Club Carnegie Hall. East Port. 01383 314127. 9pm. £5. Liverpool‘s Richard Allen comperes a night with Scottish singing send-up Craig Hill. ably supported by Jill
Peacock.
Thursday 28
Glasgow
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4). Ail-singing. all-dancing diva wannabe Craig Hill headlines with backing from Motherwell lad Mark Bratchpiece. three Velvet Virgins and coinpere Joon Broon.
Edinburgh
Big Word Performance Poetry Gilded Saloon. 233 Cowgate. 226 2151. 9pm. £3 (£2). High-energy poetic cabaret featuring social commentator Sandie Craigie. Eric Davidson. Matthew Fitt and hip hop-style rap courtesy of Mr Jinx. Resident comperes are Jem Rolls and Anita Govan.
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £5 (£3). Guest compere Jane Mackay welcomes to the stage rising star Lucy Porter. plus Charlie Ross and Shtig Gray.
Reg Anderson’s Comedy Cellar Fin MacCools. 161 Lothian Road. 622 7109. 9pm. Free. Joining comedy‘s Mr Magic this evening are Steven Dick. John Littlejohn and Keara Murphy.
Noble Comedy Noble's Bar. 44a Constitution Street. Leith. 554 2024. 9pm. Free. Resident host Ben Darcy introduces straight-talking Raymond
Mearns. with backing from L'krainian Bene Linchesticov and Paul McNeill.
Glasgow
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 08706006055. 9pm. £6 (£5 ). Ireland‘s Kev in Hayes returns to his favourite Scottish venue to launch another comic charm offensive on an unsuspecting audience. Support comes from Lucy Porter and Charlie Ross. Jane Mackay assumes the coinpering honours.
Edinburgh
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £6 (£5). impressionist Mark Walker makes the most of celebrity foibles. Craig Hill and Mark Bratchpiece stand up in support. whilst Susan Morrison takes charge of the mic.
Dundee
Dundee Comedy Club The Doghouse. 13 Brown Street. 01382 227080. 9pm. £5 (£4). A distinctly Dundonian-inlluenced line-up featuring Ben Darcy. Annie Wallace and Stuart lvans. Dundee‘s infamous daughter Joon Broon cracks the whip as compere.
Saturday 30
Glasgow
So You Think You’re Funny? State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 357 5387. 9pm. £5 (£4). Billy Bonkers hosts the first Scottish heat of this prestigious stand-up competition searching for the brightest and most original talent gracing the stages of Scotland's comedy venues. Expect around ten new-ish acts. each vying fora place in the August final. Past winners include Dylan Moran. Tommy Tiernan and Rhona Cameron. so to be in with a chance. either send an SAE to Gilded Balloon. 233 Cowgate. Edinburgh. EH1 lTE. or go to www.channel4.com/sofunny.
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870600 6055. 9pm. £7 (£4). See Fri 29. only Susan Morrison takes the compering role.
Edinburgh
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £7 (£4). Same line-tip as Fri 29. but with host Jane Mackay.
Dundee
Jenny Eclair Dundee Rep. Tay Square. 01382 223530. 10.45pm. £10—£12 (£8—£10). The popular and foul- mouthed comedienne and novelist heads out on tour.
Wine
The Comedy Club Harbour Arts Centre. 1 14—1 16 Harbour Street. 01294 274059. 9pm. £5. Edinburgh‘s Gordon Brunton indulges in some outlandish observations. Craig Crookston and Susanne Fraser complete the line-up.
Glasgow
The Vigorous Lime Quiz Of Joy Curlers. 256 Byres Road. 338 6511. 8pm. Free. See Sun 24.
Six On Sunday The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.15pm. £3 (£2). Host Mark Bratchpiece eases you into the working week. introducing singing sensation Craig Hill. Blair and Shug Gray.
So You Think You’re Funny? The State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 332 2159. 9pm. £5 (£4). Scotland‘s improv maestro and former worthy SYTYF‘.’ winner Phil Kay takes over the reins as compere for the second heat of Channel 4‘s comedy showcase.
Canvas Comedy Club Canvas. 13—16 Walls Street. 552 2101. 9pm. £5. Miles Jupp reigns supreme. and his loyal subjects this evening include Ben Darcy. Tim Lawrence. guest compere Joe Heenan. plus Delia Gallagher.
CAUSTIC SATIPE STEWART LEE The Stand. Glasgow, Fri 22 & Sat 23 Jun; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 24 Jun. Stewart Lee is probably most famous as one half of a double act with Richard Herring, and together they fronted TV’s Fist Of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy. The latter being a particularly cheeky Sunday morning show which covered topics most shows wouldn’t dare to mention till well after the watershed. This almost inevitably led to it being dropped because it ‘didn’t fit the image of BBC2’.
When I ask Lee to describe his comedy he quickly counters, ‘Have you ever seen my stand-up?’ |
Comedy
admit I have on several occasions. ‘So,’ he says, ‘how would you describe it?’ Well, it’s pretty vicious, quite rude and very surreal. ‘Well just use that
and say I said it,’ he replies.
It's this kind of world-weary sarcasm that has made his name but he admits, ‘I can’t work out if the type of stuff I’m writing now is stand-up or not.’ So these shows may be his last stand-up performances for the foreseeable future; a ‘greatest hits tour’ according to Lee. He believes his new material may be more suited to storytelling or prose and he has a
novel, The Perfect Fool, out soon.
‘1 always thought the purpose of comedy was for people to go “I would never have thought of that”. I just did a gig in Liverpool,’ he explains, ‘and half the audience were really into it but the other half didn’t think this was what comedy was about. And they seemed to get more angry because the other people where enjoying it so much.’ So which half will you be?
(Henry Northmore)
Edinburgh
Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 1pm. Free with drinks or a meal. See Sun 24.
Six On Sunday The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £3 (£2). Host Graeme Thomas introduces six stand- up stars including Lucy Porter and Paul McNeil].
East Kilbride
Matt And MacKinnon - Virgin On The Ridiculous East Kilbride Arts Centre. Old Coach Road. 01355 261000. 8pm. £6 (£4). Last year‘s ‘So You Think You're Funny‘ third-place runners-up preview their Fringe show based on their experiences of island hopping in Scotland.
Glasgow
Bar Zoo Comedy Club Bar Zoo. 80 Dumbarton Road. 334 8012. 8.30pm. £4 (£3). Brian Hennigan and Bill Dewar gear up for the Fringe by treating us to another instalment of their ‘Useless Guide To Scotland‘.
Edinburgh
Red Raw The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £1. Host Bruce Devlin and guest headliner Nick Findlay show the comedy newcomers how it's done.
Glasgow
Bridge Bar Comedy Club The Bridge Bar. Calton Place. 4206328. 8.30pm. £4 (£3). The always- uncomprornising Raymond Mearns should make this a launch night to remember. Chris Broomfield and Keara Murphy provide the support. alongside newcomer .\'ick Gray.
Edinburgh
Rhymes And Misdemeanours
The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8pm. £4 (£3). Comedy with a poetic twist from
I The Perfect Fool IS released on (4 Ju/ by Fourth Estate.
Donna Krachan. Sheridan Strawberry. Eric Davidson and Brendan Moohan. Three Fat Ladies The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9.30pm. £4 (£3). Joon Broon. Jane Mackay and Bruce Devlin invite you tojoin in this interactive murder mystery evening. Miles Jupp assumes the role of the randy vicar.
Wednesday 4
Glasgow
The Ad Lib Comedy Club .-\d Lih. 111 Hope Street. 357 5387. 8pm. £3. Tough-talking Raymond Mearns is supported by Des McLean.
Edinburgh
Crazy Cabaret The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8pm. £4 (£3). See Wed 27.
Reg Anderson's Fun Quiz Night The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9.30pm. £1 to play. See Wed 27.
Glasgow
The Stand The Stand. 333 \V'tuitllands Road. 08706006055. 8.30pm. £5 (£3). Canada‘s Craig Campbell with some surreal observations. Resident host Frankie Boyle also introduces local lad Colin Ramone.
Edinburgh
Noble Comedy Noble‘s Bar. 44a Constitution Street. Leith. 554 2024. 9pm. Free. Aussie comic Mickey l) headlines with Martin liurby. John Littlejohn and resident MC Ben Darcy. Reg Anderson’s Comedy Cellar Fin MacCools. 161 Lothian Road. 622 7109. 9pm. Free. MUsical comedy from Sandy Nelson. ably supported by Teddy and Ricky Callan.
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £5 (£3). Pint-sized comedy diva Jo Enright regales the audience with tales from her native Birmingham. Support acts Des Clarke and Sandra Johnstone ensure the crowd are suitably warmed up. whilst Joon Broon takes charge of the proceedings.
2’ Jar-5 J; 232’ THE LIST 63