Comedy
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to comedy@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Siân Bevan. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 23
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Susan Calman heralds the early arrival of the weekend with circuit veteran Parrot, and help and assistance from Alex Boardman, Kai Humphries and John Gavin. Edinburgh FREE Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde, 112 Hanover Street, 225 2022. 9pm. Your favourite night of depraved comedy is now free, but with the same great line- ups lorded over by MC Rick Molland. Chuck a few quid in the bucket if you have a nice time. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Raymond Mearns heads to the ’burgh to dish out some proper Weedgie comedy as he hosts tonight. Featuring Dougie Dunlop, Dominic Woodward, Michael Manley and Catie Wilkins.
Friday 24
Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm. £10–£13. Hypnotist act from Powers, who has been called ‘the Ali G of stage hypnosis’. Please note the Fri show is a ‘Family Fun Night’ but the midnight Sat show is over 21s only.
✽✽ Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building, 11
Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. The Queen of the Comedy Anecdote, Janey Godley, is tonight joined by Gerry K, Dave Longley and Keith Farnan. Free club after the show is included in the ticket price. It’s probably a dancey club, not a fighty one. DAM Fine Comedy Café Gramofon, 7 King Street, 552 7177. 8.30pm. £5. Viv Gee and Rob Kane host this weekly foray into all things comedy for next to nothing. A different line-up every week, packed with the finest comedians in the land. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 23 for line-up.
Edinburgh ✽✽ Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Omni Centre, Greenside
Place, 0844 844 0044. 7.45pm. From £11. There’s a fair few chances over the weekend to catch this line-up, which includes the simply ace Kevin Bridges along with Mike Wilkinson and Michael Fabbri. Dancing once the comedy’s done. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 23 for line-up.
Saturday 25
Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm & midnight. £10–£13. See Fri 24.
✽✽ Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building, 11
Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. See Fri 24. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £6. The long-standing home of comedy, The State Bar features a different line-up of new and experienced comedians every week. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 23 for line-up.
44 THE LIST 23 Jul–6 Aug 2009
Hitlist THE BEST COMEDY *
✽✽ Vladimir McTavish Two good reasons to see Vlad Mac this fortnight. One to witness him easing the newbie comics into their place at the Beehive and secondly as he warms up for his own Fringe run. Beehive Inn, Edinburgh, Mon 27 Jul; Traverse Theatre Bar, Edinburgh, Thu 30 Jul. ✽✽ Janey Godley The ‘Godmother of Scottish comedy’ tames the masses over the course of another frenetic Glesga Jongs weekend. See 5 Things. Jongleurs, Glasgow, Fri 24 & Sat 25 Jul. ✽✽ Kevin Bridges And over at the capital branch, the man who wooed them on the Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow does his own acerbically amusing thing. See preview. Jongleurs, Edinburgh, Fri 24 & Sat 25 Jul. ✽✽ Andrew Lawrence Now that he’s been shorn of his sinister-looking locks, the comic behind shows such as How to Butcher Your Loved Ones and Social Leprosy for Beginners and Improvers should be less scary on stage. No fear of that, though. Jongleurs, Glasgow, Fri 31 Jul–Sun 2 Aug. ✽✽ Will Andrews Having got shot of (in a nice way) his sketch pal Greg McHugh and put his Tony Carter days behind him, Mr Andrews prepares to plunge back into the Fringe world. Here’s a taster. The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 3 Aug.
The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. Scott Agnew is your host for this evening, in the dazzling company of comedians Andrew Learmonth, Sean Kent, Eddie O’Dwyer and Martin Bigpig Mor.
Edinburgh ✽✽ Fit O’ The Giggles Absolute Beginners Beehive Inn, 18
Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2 (£1). David Blair hosts this evening’s fun and games: a few hours of new comedy talent topped off with the rather wonderful Vladimir McTavish.
STAND-UP KEVIN BRIDGES Jongleurs, Edinburgh, Fri 24 & Sat 25 Jul
When comics make their Fringe debuts, many of them are hell-bent on working up the biggest theme their minds and mouths can maintain over the course of an hour. Not such manufactured tosh for a guy like Kevin Bridges, the latest in a long line of great young Scottish stand-up hopes. For his August assault An Hour to Sing for Your Soul (at the Pleasance Dome from 5 August), the focus will be firmly on one thing: telling gags. ‘Daniel Kitson is the pioneer of themed shows and if it’s done right, then it’s great. But you get people going to the Edinburgh Festival trying to just make a theme: “I stood in dogshit and it changed my life” and that kind of thing. You see too many guys who are just stand-up comedians pretending that they want to be taken seriously.’
This Clydebank comic has certainly been taken seriously for many years now, with an experience which belies his mere 22 years on this planet. Having made his stage debut aged 17, joking about being able to have sex but not watch a porno and make drunks laugh but not get a pint himself. ‘I was just speaking about what I knew, so it was natural, I wasn’t another guy trying to be Bill Hicks. Obviously you grow as a comedian but I think I’ve kept that essence right through.’ An appearance on the box in the recent Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow has certainly furthered his stock and he shouldn’t have cause to burden himself with the Fringe debutant’s classic worry. ‘I’m pretty static on stage but I’m sure if there are 14 Norwegians in a room just staring at me, there’d be some sweat.’ (Brian Donaldson)
Edinburgh ✽✽ Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. See Fri 24. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 23 for line-up.
Sunday 26 Glasgow FREE Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 8.30pm. More free comedy in the Shawlands with an ever-changing line-up. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Michael Redmond’s weekly comedy sermon is this week decorated with performances from the likes of Mark Bratchpiece and Bruce Fummey.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1pm. Improv action from Stu and Garry. It’s totally free, there’s hot food available and the chance to get attention by shouting out words when requested - just like a summer camp for problem children. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Dominic Woodward stays on after his weekend stint and is joined by Martin McAllister and Kim MacAskill. With host Siân Bevan.
Monday 27 Glasgow Dance, Monkey Boy, Dance The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £4. Raymond Mearns, Allen Chalmers and Paul Pirie present more stand-up, sketches and improvised fun. Proper entertainment and that.