THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . .
1 Firman was born in Middlesbrough, also the birthplace of one Paul Daniels. He won his school talent show twice and later studied theatre in Scarborough.
2 Having spent his teenage years practising magic, he made the breakthrough into TV by filming himself doing some tricks in his back garden. In the snow. In his underpants. He sent the audition tape to Five and gained a slot on Monkey Magic alongside the likes of fellow trickster Ali Cook.
3 Firman was hugely influenced by Penn and Teller, who were the first magicians he saw who did tricks with blood. From that moment on, he knew his future lay in ‘blending’ mice, ‘drinking' the juice and then ‘regurgitating' the little rodent.
4 Faced with the Underbelly being closed during his Fringe debut in 2007 — post-smoking-ban — because of his grand finale in Hokum which featured him eating lit cigarettes, Firman instead did a trick with an egg and sparkler which went down a storm.
5 His ultimate aim is to make an audience realise that they are effectively involved in the devilment happening on stage. He summed up his philosophy recently to a Canadian magazine: 'Whether they're watching through their fingers or wondering if what they’re seeing is real, they can’t really watch it passively. You're immediately engaged and mildly disgusted. Which is a good combination.‘ (Brian Donaldson)
I The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 16 Sep; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 7 7 Sep.
Edinburgh
Red Raw The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. Scott Agnew helps herd along the newer comedians in this packed show. Even if they‘re dreadful. it's cheaper than a pint.
Glasgow
DiScOmBoBuLaTe CCA. 350 Sauchiehall Street. 352 4900. 8pm. £4 (£2). A laid-back performance night where literature and comedy collide. as established and emergent writers try out new material.
Red Raw The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1
members). Charming comedian and poet Viv Gee introduces a new round of
comedians trying their luck on the stage.
Edinburgh
Melting Pot The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £2.50). Another batch of sketches is thrown into the Melting Pot. ready for your judgement and appraisal.
Edinburgh
The Mighty Boosh Festival
Theatre. 13/29 Nicolson Street. 529 6000. 7.30pm. SOLD OUT. Join Vince Noir and Howard Moon (that‘s Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt in disguise). plus a whole host of recognisable characters. on their wacky and colourful adventures. See Last Word. page 104. Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde. 1 12 Hanover Street. 225 2022. 9pm. £3. Rick Molland‘s den of inequity welcomes another load of comedians unleashing the darkest pieces of material they can think of. The Thursday Show The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £7 (£6; members £3). Sandy Nelson. a delightful fixture of the Stand. introduces fabulous comedians Tony Law. Steven Dick and Eilidh MacAskill. If you get there early. you can get very nice hot food too.
Glasgow
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. UGC Building. 11 Renfrew Street. 0844 8440044. 8pm. £12. A particularly marvellous line-up of inventive circuit favourites this weekend at Jongleurs: Raymond Meams. Ava Vidal. John Scott and Gavin Webster.
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £9 (£8: members £5). Yay! The ever-so-dashing Radio Scotland smooth-talker Fred MacAulay hosts the weekend. With comedy hilarity from acts such as Tony Hendriks and Niall Browne.
Edinburgh
The Mighty Boosh Festival
Theatre. 13/29 Nicolson Street. 529 6000. 7.30pm. SOLD OUT. See Thu 1 1. page 9 and Last Word. page 104. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. ()mni Centre. Greenside Place. 0844 844 0044. 8.15pm. £1 1. Get in early for some food and a good seat to watch John Ryan. Mike Wilkinson. Johnny Candon. Ben Norris and Tom Wriggleswonh making jokes and that. The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £9 (£8; members £5). A very lively variety from the Stand‘s talent books this weekend: Steven Dick with his magic. Eilidh MacAskill with her ukulele. Tony Law with his mega-jokes and Sandy Nelson who-can-play-the-guitar-but- might-not-tonight.
Glasgow The Mighty Boosh Pavilion Theatre. 121 Renfield Street. 332 1846. 7.30pm. SOLD OUT. See Thu 1 1. page 9 and Last Word. page 104. Jongleur's Comedy Club Jongleurs. UGC Building. 1 l Renfrew Street. 0844 8440044. 8pm. £15. See Fri 12. Comedy 0 The State The State Bar. 148 Holland Street. 332 2159. 9pm. £5. See Sat 6. The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands
Road. 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £12. See Fri 12.
Edinburgh
Danny Bhoy Brunton Theatre. Ladywell Way. Musselburgh. 665 2240. 7.30pm. £14.50 (£12.50). Be-dimpled Moffat-bom
; charmer with a nice line in worldly
observations.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. Omni Centre. Greenside Place. 0844 844
0044. 8.15pm. £14. See Fri 12.
g The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 ; 7272. 9pm. £12. See Fri 12.
Glasgow
The Mighty Boosh Pavilion Theatre. 121 Renl'ield Street. 332 1846. 7.30pm. SOLD OUT. See Thu 1 1.
page 9 and Last Word. page 104.
Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory
f Hotel. Langside Avenue. Shawlands. 8.30pm. See Sun 7.
Michael Redmond’s Sunday
Service The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Tony
Hendriks and Martin McAllister come to
this marvellous basement in Glasgow to join the legendary Father 721d star Redmond. Plus. some whippersnapper called Dylan Moran will be doing some
bits before he goes on the road.
Edinburgh
Whose Lunch is it Anywafl
The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 1pm.
See Sun 7.
The Sunday Night Laugh-In The
Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Sandy Nelson presents a showcase of mystery guests.
‘ all performing to help make Monday
seem that little bit further away.
Glasgow
Monday Night Comedy Special The Stand. 333 Woodlands
Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £6 (£5: members £3). Dylan Moran gets up on . stage again tonight with Raymond
Meams hosting and local fun provided by Paul Pirie and Allen Chalmers.
Edinburgh
Fit 0’ The Giggles Absolute Beginners The Mercat. 28 West Maitland Street. 225 3861. 8.30pm. £2.
A weekly dose of supportive new
, comedy. headed up by Keara Murphy. There‘s food available at the gig. but if you laugh too much please choke on
your chips quietly.
Red Raw The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. It's a comedy lottery. with a host of newer acts having a shot
; behind the mic. with an experienced headliner and compere.
Glasgow
Red Raw The Stand. 333 Woodlands
3 Road. 0870600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1
members). Once more Red Raw chews up and spits out a bunch of plucky performers who reckon they‘ve got what
it takes to be funny. with comedy mum JoJo Sutherland as host.
i Edinburgh
Pete Firman: Flim Flam The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272.
8.30pm. £10 (£8). See 5 Things. left. Hairy Watt Comedy Club Heriot- Watt University Union. Riccarton. 451 i 5333. 9pm. £4 (£3). Comedy‘s scary
uncle Raymond Meams hosts tonight's
' show. with Anthony Murray.
1 Glasgow
Pete Firman: Flim Flam The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 6006055. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). See Tue 16.
Edinburgh Benefit in Aid of CCLASP The
Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm.
; £7 (£5). A night of laughter. with a top
line-up. to help raise funds for the
Children with Cancer and Leukaemia 3 Advice and Support for Parents.
Comedians to be announced.
The Mighty Boosh They‘re sold out to heck, so if you have a precious ticket, hold it as tightly to you as you would were it the Ruby of Kukundu. That's a Boosh reference right there for you. See Big Picture, page 9, and Last Word. page 104. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 77 & Fri 72 Sep; Pavilion, Glasgow, Sat 73 8. Sun 74 Sep.
Dylan Moran Can’t actually imagine Mr Moran limbering up. but that’s what he’s doing here as he prepares for an all-out stand—up assault in the shape of his What It Is national tour. The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 74 & Mon 75 Sep.
Pete Firman More Film Flam from a man who is helping to give the magical arts a good name. See 5 Things. The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 76 Sep; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 77 Sep.
Brendon Burns The tunic-loving Aussie warms up for his forthcoming Burnsy special with some high-energy antics. Comedically-speaking rather than disco-wise. The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 78 Sep.
Kevin Bridges A comic who has long passed the moment of being a hot prospect delivers more of his incisive wit. Jong/eurs, Edinburgh, Fri 5 8 Sat 6 Sep.
Glasgow
The Thursday Show The Stand.
333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £7 (£6; £3 members). Insert your own expletives here. as Brendon flippin' Bums comes to the Stand. He’s performing with acts such as Pete Cain and host Susan Morrison.
Edinburgh
Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde. l 12 Hanover Street. 225 2022. 9pm. £3. See Thu 1 l.
The Thursday Show The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £7 (£6; members £3). Acid-tongued wit monster Bruce Devlin is your host for the weekend. bringing eager audiences the delights of Wayne Deakin. Chris McCausland. Stan Bevan and Ross Baillie.
4—18 Sep 2008 THE LIST 45