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if the height of comedic excellence is to say the unsayable, then Jerry Sadowitz is the granddaddy of them all. Not many comics can come back from the brink of showbusiness suicide by dubbing Nelson Mandela a ‘cunt' and insulting a whole nation with one fell swoop of a comment. “Hello moosefuckers,’ was his opening gambit during a gig in, you guessed it, Canada. But maybe Jerry just doesn’t mean it. Maybe it’s just an act, a persona that he has calculatedly created to make us giggle at our own inherent prejudices or to simply help us find humour in difficult notions and subjects. His reluctance to totally shed or glue on the mask only deepens
the mystery.
Born in New Jersey in 1961 (but brought up in Scotland, hence, obviously, the accent), Sadowitz shares a link with that area’s other master of the contradiction, Tony Soprano. The telly mafia guy can make us wince while garrotting a rival in one scene and then force us to melt with his feminine side being teased out in therapy in the next. Sadowitz is the same. One minute winning our hearts with a subtle bit of card trickery, making us want to throw up the next with a savage attack on a variety of soft targets. Still, there are very few comics who can hold the attention quite like Sadowitz and, whatever he actually means to say, it's always worth
listening to.
In a fortnight when there are people waving banners and hurling insults because of another Jerry show, you get the feeling that Sadowitz would both love and loathe that kind of attention. (Brian Donaldson)
I George Square Theatre. Edinburgh, Sat 15 Apr.
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least ten days before publication to comedyOlistcomk. Listings are compiled by Rachael Street.
Thursday 13
Glasgow
* The Thursday Show The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £6 (£5: £3 members). Carey Marx lines up alongside cocky comic
40 THE LIST 13-27 Apr 2006
Matt Blaize. Phil Differ and Frances Healy. Bawdy lass Jane Mackay takes on compering duties. See 5 Reasons for Matt Blaize.
Edinburgh
* Big Word Fifth Birthday The Tron. 9 Hunter Square. High Street. 226 0931. 9—1 lptn. £3 (£2). The performance poetry extravaganza celebrates reaching the grand old age of five. with more rhyme- defying madness from Rob Gee. Brendan McCloud. Lucy English. Gary Robertson and Tickle.
Don Quixote Comedy Hits The Arcade Bar. 48 ('ockbum Street. 220 1297. 9pm. £3 (£2). The Don Qtnxote crew. featuring Billy Kirkwood. Aidan McQuade. Mark Nelson and Jay. retum to the capital for another night of freewheeling laughs.
The Thursday Show The Stand. 5 York
Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £6 (£5; £3 members). The original Nonhem lrish
Bigpig. Martin Mor. teams up with Derek Johnston and bombastic host Raymond Meams.
: * The Snatch Social The Liquid
Room. 9c Victoria Street. 225 2564. I 1pm—3am. £5. The (‘uban Brothers are
Havana laugh tonight in this special show as part of their A-Z tour.
? Glasgow
Watson‘s Wind-Up (iltlsgtm‘ liilm
1 Theatre. 12 Rose Street. 332 8128. 1pm. Free; ticketed. Topical comedy fun at the recording of BBC Scotland's popular
sketch shovv. starring Jonathan Watson.
Blackfrlars Bumper Value Comedy Blackfriars. 36 Bell Street. 556 5626.
i 8pm. £4. Damion Larkin and Kevin
: Bridges perform one of their two helpings i of Friday bumper value comedy. l)t.‘s
f McLean is in charge.
Curlers Bumper Value Comedy Curlers. 256—260 Byres Road. 338 651 1. 8pm. £4. (‘ompere Scott Agnew recovers from his quarter-life crisis to host Kevin Bridges and former stockbroker Damion larkin. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. UGC Building. Renfrew Street. 08707 870707. 8pm. £10. Crowd-pleasing cheeky Cockney [Eddy Brimson is joined b experienced humour veteran Parrot. The Stand The Stand. 333 Wixxllands Road. 08706006055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7). Refomied magician Carey Marx and handsome devil Matt Blaize headline. complemented by Phil Differ and Frances Healy. Queen of mean Jane Mackay hosts. See 5 Reasons for Matt Blaize.
Edinburgh
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. Omni Centre. Greenside Place. 08707 870707. 8.15pm. £10. Charisma hotspot Miles Crawford. AUstralia‘s laconic genius Steve Hughes. and the ‘observational' comic Chris Mc(‘atisland. The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7). Comedy volcano Susan Morrison heats up the Stand for Martin ‘Bigpig' Mor. the unashamedly middle-class Markus Birdman. Steven Dick and Derek Johnston.
The Bedlam lmproverts Bedlam Theatre. 1 lb Bristo Place. 225 9893. 10.30pm. £3.50 (£3; £2.50 members). Long live the comedy referendum as a changing rota of improv players create more spontaneous sketches based around audience suggestions.
Glasgow
Blackfriars Bumper Value Comedy Blackfriars. 36 Bell Street. 556 5626. 8pm. £4. Alan Anderson runs the show, while monkey boy Des McLean and the destitute Damion Larkin set out their chuckle stalls.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. UGC Building. Renfrew Street. 08707 870707. 8pm. £13. See Fri 14.
Cosy Comedy Cafe The State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 926 9289. 9pm. £6 (£5). The lmpro Babble Comedy Players (AKA Billy Bunkers. Frances Healy. Austin
Lowe. Chris Broomtield and friends)
show off their spontaneous improv talents. * The Stand The Stand. 333
'oodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £10 (£8). See Fri 14.
Edinburgh
* Jerry Sadowitz George Square Theatre. University of Edinburgh. George Square. 650 8401. 8pm. £15.50. The filthy-mouthed magician returns north of
REASONS TO GO SEE
MATT BLAIZE
He’s not afraid to take on the toughest of them all Four years ago. he appeared in the tip-and- coming comedians specral of The Weakest Link. No one has yet to ask Blaize how he lelt being dubbed one of ‘the Bob Monkhouses ol tomorrow‘ by the scary quizmistress.
Even if you don’t think his comedy is classic, his background is Blaize trained as an actor and has performed roles in gigs written by Shakespeare and Turgenev. I'd like to see Ross Noble pull that off.
The legends love him Or loved. we suppose. When Blaize was nominated for the Richard Pryor Award. the comic icon was quoted as saying that Blaize's style was ‘larger than life' and that he had audiences ‘wrapped around his finger'. These are both compliments.
He's a healthy eater While many comedians guzzle down a bottle of beer (or six) during a one-hour set. Blaize sucked on a grape each time he gained applause for a joke during his Modesty Blaize show last year. To be fair. not many of them were left by the end.
He’s sharp Not only does he look slick. his delivery and confidence leaves most of his opposition spitting. (Brian Donaldson)
I The Stand. Glasgow, Thu 13—Sat 75 Apr; the Stand. Edinburgh, Sun 76 Apr.
the border following his 2005 sell-(i111 l'K
tour. Over 18s only. See preview.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jonglcui's. ()mni (‘entrc. (ireensidc Place. 08707 870707. 8.15pm. £12. Sec lit 14.
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558
7272.‘)pm.£10(£8). Seel'ri l4,
Glasgow
The Stand The Stand. 333 \k'txxllailds Road. 08706006055. 8.30pm. £3 (£6). Sunday coinpere Michael Rcdini 111d
welcomes albino hater ('arey Marx.
MarkUs Birdman. and slaphead-w ith- funnybone (iary Little to the long weekend.
Edinburgh
Whose Lunch is it Anywafi The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 1pm. Free. Banish that morning-after feeling with a dose of free (form) laughter from improv- stars Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy.