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5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT
EDDIE IZZARD 1 Born in Yemen, Edward John Izzard spent three pre-school years in mid-60s Northern Ireland. Oblivious to all the politics, he was brought up in a Protestant stronghold in Bangor and loved going out to chuck mud at passing cars. 2 A committed Europhile, he has famously performed his stand-up in French. Who could ever forget his legendary ‘le singe est dans l’arbre’ skit from the Montreal Comedy Festival in 1992? Curiously, he wasn’t especially great at the language at school but had the confidence to crack on in his broken French when he first visited the country. His motif: communication first, grammar second.
3 He attended the University of Sheffield in the early 80s but his term of study ended after one year of Accounting and Financial Management. On returning 25 years later to receive an honorary degree, he joked out loud that he had been thrown out of the place. 4 His comedy life began by doing street performance in Covent Garden and a decade later he was on the legendary 1991 Perrier shortlist alongside Jack Dee and Lily Savage when Frank Skinner won the award.
5 Despite his status as comedy icon (he was placed third in that Channel 4 poll of the 100 best stand-ups in the world ever), acting is actually his first love and he’s done pretty well for himself on screens both large and small and in theatre. Not all career moves go totally smoothly, though. He turned down a role as an unscrupulous arms dealer in 24 to appear with Minnie Driver as grifter members of a traveller community in The Riches. That lasted all of two series. (Brian Donaldson) ■ SECC, Glasgow, Tue 10 & Wed 11 Nov.
Wednesday 11
Finnieston Quay, 0870 040 4000. 6pm. £30. See Tue 10.
Glasgow ✽ Eddie Izzard: Stripped SECC, ✽ Jason Cook The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055.
8.30pm. £9 (£7). See Tue 10.
Edinburgh Melting Pot The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members
£2.50). A whole bunch of sketches, written by local funny people, performed for your delectation. Vote for your favourite at the end. It’s like democracy, but with no Nick Griffin. Thursday 12
Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. Local gentlemen Raymond Mearns and Des Clarke add some grit and sparkle to a lonesome Thursday evening. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Compere Susan Calman is holding the reins this weekend, which could be needed as firebomb Brendon Burns is headlining, with some mighty impressive support from Patrick Monahan. Plus talented locals Bob Graham and Stephen Callaghan. Edinburgh FREE Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde, 112 Hanover Street, 225 2022. 9pm. See Thu 5. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). This weekend is going to make you happier than you thought possible. Hosted by the ever chipper Joe Heenan, The Stand brings you a show featuring Simon Munnery, Stu & Garry, Tiernan Douieb and Ailsa Johnston.
Friday 13
Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 5.45pm & 9.15pm. From £12. Help yourself to a portion of John Ryan, Kevin Gildea, Trevor Crook and Mark Walker. Follow it up with a scoop of dancing at the after-show club until 2am. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 12 for line-up. Edinburgh Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £10. Carey Marx, Dominic Woodward, Alex Boardman and Steve Harris come to save the day. Hot food’s available and dancing after for a proper night out. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 12 for line-up, minus the lovely Stu & Garry.
Saturday 14 Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 5.45pm & 9.15pm. From £12. See Fri 13.
✽ Janey Godley Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse,
226 0000. 8pm. £10 (£5.50–£7.50). Another tale of family life from the prolific Janey Godley. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £6. See Sat 7. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 12 for line-up.
Edinburgh Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. See Fri 13. The Laughter Show with Patrick Monahan The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £20 (£18). A night of stand-up comedy headlined by Patrick Monahan to raise funds for the Centre of Health and Wellbeing. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 12 for line-up, with host Raymond Mearns replacing Joe Heenan this evening.
Sunday 15
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 3–4pm. £3. Live laughs for younger comedy fans. This week host Susan Calman and Brendon Burns keep it clean for ages 8–12. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult. FREE Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 8.30pm. Another night of comedy courtesy of MC Alan Anderson, with Bill Dewar and English Comedian of the Year winner Matthew Osborne. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Redmond’s return sees him introducing the very fine talents of Patrick Monahan, Tiernan Douieb and Martin McAllister. An offbeat end to the week. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1pm. See Sun 8.
✽ Brendon Burns Special The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10
(£8). A whole evening dedicated to the foul-mouthed tirades and teachings of the one and only Brendon Burns. Not for the faint of heart.
Monday 16
Glasgow Roy Chubby Brown SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Finnieston Quay, 0870 040 4000. 7.30pm. £21. Blue comedy from the man branded ‘too rude for television’. Yes. Too rude. That’s why he’s not on TV. Never mind the comedy, that patchwork jacket is hardly fit for public consumption. Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). A night of unexpected comedy, as Billy Kirkwood, Garry Dobson, Stu Murphy, Chris Forbes and The Improv Dogs champion the fine art of improvised comedy. Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). Sean Grant and Chris Henry are joined by a selection of new hopefuls, in a cheap and cheerful showcase to start your week.
Tuesday 17 Glasgow Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). Clap your hands and smile supportively as a batch of new ‘uns perform, sometimes for the first time. They’re joined by proper grown-up comedians Phil Differ and Susan Calman.
Edinburgh ✽ Simon Munnery’s Extraordinary AGM The Stand, 5 York Place, 558
7272. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Strap yourselves in, members of the Cult of Munnery, your leader has returned. All are invited to join a unique journey to a land of worry, ponderings and total beauty.
Wednesday 18
Glasgow Benefit in Aid of Sense Scotland The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £7 (£5). Comedians such as Simon Munnery will be performing this evening to give you a fabulous night of entertainment, while raising funds to help support those affected by sensory impairment, deafblindness, learning or physical disability. Edinburgh Benefit in Aid of Dreamflight The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10. Top comedians, including the marvellous Tom Stade, give up their time for free to raise funds to send seriously
Comedy Hitlist THE BEST COMEDY *
✽ Scott Agnew’s Sunday Service The man formerly known as the Scottish Comedian of the Year introduces some top local talent in the shape of Mark Nelson, Viv Gee, Rab Brown and Kim MacAskill. The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 8 Nov. ✽ Eddie Izzard He might want to be an M(E)P at some point, but for now he’s getting Stripped for some stand-up action. See 5 Things. SECC, Glasgow, Tue 10 & Wed 11 Nov. ✽ Jason Cook This upstanding Geordie does hilarious pathos like no other and with Fear he’ll be baring yet more of his soul. See My Comedy Hero. The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 10 Nov; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 11 Nov. ✽ Janey Godley More tough tales and tender asides from the undisputed Godmother of Scottish comedy. Platform, Glasgow, Sat 14 Nov. ✽ Brendon Burns Special The always shouting, never dull Aussie takes time out from being quiet by being really loud again. The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 15 Nov. ✽ Simon Munnery’s Extraordinary AGM Eccentricity at its finest with the former League Against Tedium team captain. The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 17 Nov.
ill and disabled children to Florida theme parks. And to bring them back, obviously. Thursday 19
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Billy Kirkwood is your compere this weekend, and Simon Munnery is the headliner. If that’s not enough, you’ll also be offered a taste of Neil McFarlane, Jimmy Mcghie and Jim Park. Edinburgh FREE Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde, 112 Hanover Street, 225 2022. 9pm. See Thu 5. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Height-wise, this is (on average) a very tall line-up. Host Scott Agnew, Martin Bigpig Mor, Derek Johnston and Steve Harris. They’re funny and everything, but also tall. Interesting.
5–19 Nov 2009 THE LIST 43