STAND-UP ANDY PARSONS The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 16-Sat 18 Jun
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What’s bad news for the country is often good news for the satirist. So you might think that Andy Parsons who, with long-time writing partner Henry Naylor, has just finished a sixth series of Radio 2’s current affairs comedy Parsons and Naylor's Pullout Sections, would enjoy seeing the nation go to hell in the Crazy Frog’s sidecar. But you’d be mistaken. ‘For four weeks the focus was politics,’ he fumes in his distinctively bemused Essex boom. ‘But now it’s the summer and you can see the drop-off in newspaper coverage already. It’s only Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island now, whereas before even the tabloids had pretend pages devoted to issues. I don’t want bad things to happen because it makes the comedy easier but you always hope that in any given week there have been some real stories.’
Ever since he left his job handling legal documents for shipyards on the Clyde, Parsons has excelled at blurring the boundary between trivial and serious. In the early 905, he and Naylor effectively pioneered the performance of live sketches at a club night in Notting Hill and, as a writer for Spitting Image, the chrome-domed comic established a reputation as a topical wit of both savagery and silliness. Sluicing his informed, constipated anger through a village idiot’s blurting, he’s as capable of conveying the unbridled passion of a dog licking its balls as turning a prolonged train journey into a Sisyphean, New Labour nightmare of
endlessly moving stasis.
You can catch his appearances on BBC2’s new panel show Mock the Week, alongside Dara O’Briain, Rory Bremner and Frankie Boyle, or on stage soon. ‘I love doing the Stand,’ he says. ‘It was packed during the Glasgow Comedy Festival and an absolute riot. In the end I didn’t do half the stuff I’d intended to because I was having so much fun just mucking
around.’ (Jay Richardson)
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least ten days before publication to comedleist.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Rachael Street.
Thursday 9 ‘
Glasgow
The Thursday Show The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £6 (£3—£5). Banter-meister Roger Monkhouse leads the comedy way. with support from ‘geordie‘ mischief-’ maker Tony Caner. magical Steven Dick.
44 THE LIST 9—23 Jun 2005
Duncan Guthrie and full-force host. Raymond Meams.
; Edinburgh
Big Word Performance Poetry The Tron. 9 Hunter Square. High Street. 226 0931. 9pm. £3 (£2). Fortnightly dose of lyrical mayhem featuring Dundonian Gary Robertson. Fiona Lindsay. piranha poet Gary Death. Bram Gieben. Sean
' McBride and led Milroy. Hosted by Jenny
Lindsay.
; The Thursday Show The Stand. 5 York
Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £6 (£3—£5). Bearded loon Martin ‘Bigpig‘ Mor joins comedy sharp-shooters Nick Doody and
Michael Manley and a wee lass with a big future Susan Calman for another pre- weekend laughter session hosted by guest compere .lane Mackay.
The Snatch Social The Liquid Room. 9c Victoria Street. 225 2564. 10.30pm—3am. £4 (£3.50). Harry Ainsworth and Tony Carter mix it up at
, this cheeky cabaret-cum-disco. Babes and
Trendy Wendy supply tunes.
Glasgow
Watson’s Wind-up Glasgow Film Theatre. 12 Rose Street. 332 8128. 1pm. Free but ticketed. Topical comedy fun at the recording of BBC Scotland‘s popular sketch show stam'ng Jonathan Watson. Free tickets available from the box office. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongieurs, UGC Building, Renfrew Street, 08707 870707. 8pm. £12. Former magician Phil Butler works his comedy magic with help from Karl Spain. deadpan man Dom Carroll and Aussie giant Colin Cole. The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7).
, Skilful patter merchant Roger Monkhouse ‘ takes to the stage with able comic support
from Tony Carter, Fifer Steven Dick. Duncan Guthrie and host Susan Morrison. So You Think You’re Funny The State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 332 2159. 9pm. £5 (£4). Channel 4‘s annual comedy search returns with more aspiring laughter-meisters. hoping to be the next Rhona C ameron. Phil Kay or Tommy
Tieman. who were all spotted at the
competition. Compered by Edinburgh boy Gordon Brunton.
' Edinburgh
Jongleura Comedy Club Jongleurs. Omni Centre. Greenside Place, 08707 870707. 8.15pm. £12. Scouser Brendan Riley teams up with consummate storyteller ian Coppinger. full-force Aussie Brendon Bums and Simon B Cmmr
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7). Cheeky surrealist Martin ‘Bigpig’ Morjoins forces with Nick Doody. oddball Derek Devine.
loveable northemer Barry Dodds and host Jane Mackay.
3 Glasgow
Blackfriars Comedy Blackfriars. 36 Bell Street. 552 5924. 8pm. £6 (£5). Perrier Best Newcomer Wil Hodgson regales with his west country humour. supported by Nick Page. Scott Agnew and host Alan Anderson. See 5 Reasons. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building. Renfrew Street. 08707 870707. 8pm. £13. See Fri 10.
Club Noir Carling Academy. 121 Eglinton Street. 0870 771 2000. 9pm—2am. £12 (£9). This great burlesque club returns with the theme ‘Saucy Seaside Postcards'. spinning the usual selection of great tunes and featuring a special comedy slot from former Redcoat Bruce Morton. Is it just me. or does every stand-up claim to be a former Redcoat these days?
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 6006055. 9pm. £10 (£8). See Fri 10, but with host Jane Mackay.
So You Think You're Funny The State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 332 2159. 9pm. £5 (£4). See Fri 10.
Edinburgh
Barry Cryer Queen‘s Hall. Clerk Street. 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10—£15 (£8—£12). The king of the one-liner and comedy veteran C ryer embarks on his ‘First Farewell Tour‘. And it‘s all for charity. This time for Waverley Care. See Answer Machine. page 128. Scotland 4 Australia 1 Why Not?. 14 George Street, 624 8633. 8pm. £7 (£6). The successful quintet retums with the wit of Australian Kieran Butler pitted against Scotland‘s rising comedy stars Paul Piric. Keir McAllister. Peter Aitchison and
REASONS TO GO SEE
1. That CV How many comedians can claim to be have been both a ‘Chippenham skinhead and professional wrestler'? 2. His sensitive side How can you resist a chap who wears so much paint and confesses to a love of My Little Pony? That's right; you can‘t.
3. That accent He's not actually related to Worzel Gummidge but listen to him: he could be.
4. Backing the underdog While Jackson's Way ran away with the Perrier last year with a show at the Underbelly, Wil was nabbing the Best Newcomer prize by entertaining the impressed masses at the Holyrood Tavern. We sensed that Hodgson was destined for greatness when our reviewer was asked if he was in fact a Perrier judge. before finding himself sat near the veteran likes of Stewart Lee and Jenny Eclair. 5. A future in telly? We hope so. if the name of his planned show is anything to go by: Racist Bigoted Fascist Pricks Say the Funniest Things.
Blackfn’ars, Glasgow, Sat 77 Jun.
Austin Low.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. Omni Centre. Greenside Place. 08707 870707. 8.15pm. £13. See Fri 10.
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£8). See Fri 10. although Susan Morrison takes over as compere.
Glasgow
Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £4
v (£l—£3). Nick Doody and Derek Devine
join laconic host Michael Redmond for more end of week laughs.
Edinburgh
Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 1pm. Free.
Ease yourself into the day after the night before. with some freester comedy offerings from Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy.
The Sunday Night Laugh-in The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £4 (£l—£3). Out-there comedy host Bruce
Devlin invites John Gillick. Steven Dick
and more Red Raw protégés to the stage.
Glasgow
Dance, Monkey Boy, Dance The
Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600
6055. 8.30pm. £4. Much-loved comedy improv night with Sandy Nelson. Allen Chalmers. Joe Heenan and Des McLean. plus their trusty guitar and piano for company.