Comedy
5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT
STEWART LEE 1 While at Oxford, Lee first joined hips with Richard Herring in various revue affairs including some critically-unacclaimed jaunts to the Edinburgh Fringe in the late 80s. Al Murray was also part of that gang and later Lee would script edit the Pub Landlord’s Sky One sitcom Time Gentlemen, Please. Recently, Murray described his relationship with Lee as thus: ‘Stewart was in the year above me at uni; he’s always going to be a year older than me and will always know better and always tell me off. Bless his heart.’
2 A massive music buff (he has been known to shred an audience’s ears with some squealy free jazz before taking to the stage), Lee has written reviews for The Sunday Times and Mojo and at the start of the year won Celebrity Mastermind with his chosen subject, the jazz guitarist Derek Bailey. 3 Not one to take the easy route (he wrote an opera that really upset some Christians), Lee has long had plans to write a sitcom about the Norse God Thor. Interestingly (or otherwise) Richard Herring has written an as yet unbroadcast TV comedy about a stand-up double act, which he insists bears no relation to the Fist of Fun pair’s days.
4 After some failed attempts to get back on telly proper, Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle rolled into our homes last spring and was met with steadily increasing audience ratings (as such, going somewhat against the norm) and predictably strong critical approval. Except in Time Out where the reviewer got incredibly personal describing Lee as ‘pie- eyed’, ‘shambling’, an ‘assumed polymath’, ‘ponderous’ and, even, ‘fat’. But fear not, the piece was written by Lee himself under the pseudonym of Tim Out. 5 Who says that the public don’t always get it right? Almost 3000 Stew fans signed an online petition in the last month when it was rumoured that the BBC were not prepared to give his Comedy Vehicle a second series. Dramatically, the corporation have officially announced that yes, indeed, we will see more of his ‘Tom Hark’ theme-tuned show. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 20 Feb.
44 THE LIST 18 Feb–4 Mar 2010
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 18
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). MC Susan Morrison sprinkles your weekend with the comedy fairydust of Dave Johns, Nathan Caton, Jeff O’Boyle and The Dukes of Improv, messrs Stu & Garry.
Edinburgh ✽✽ The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7;
members £4). Carl Donnelly’s up this weekend, with his charming comedy schtick. Scott Agnew holds the show together, which also features Benjamin Crellin, Martin McAllister and Eddie O’Dwyer. See preview for Carl Donnelly.
Friday 19 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 Friday show is a ‘Family Fun Night’ and the midnight Saturday show is over 21s only. Famous for Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. Roger Monkhouse, Caimh McDonnell, Eddy Brimson and Geoff Boyz entertain the troops this weekend, with aftershow club. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 18 for line- up.
Edinburgh ✽✽ Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. A weekend packed full of entertainment in two time zones, with Mickey Hutton, Tom Wrigglesworth, Michael Smiley and Junior Simpson. Ticket price includes dancey dancing after the show.
✽✽ The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9;
members £5). See Thu 18 for line-up, but Bruce Devlin replaces Scott Agnew. The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 11b Bristo Place, 225 9893. 10.30pm. £4 (£3.50). Late night laughter from Edinburgh’s improvised comedy troupe. Saturday 20
Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm & midnight. £10–£13. See Fri 19.
✽✽ Famous for Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street,
0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. See Fri 19.
✽✽ The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055.
9pm. £13. See Thu 18 for line-up.
STAND-UP CARL DONNELLY The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 18–Sat 20 Feb; The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb
As a jaw-dropping introduction to the mad old world of stand-up, Carl Donnelly’s second ever gig takes some beating. When telly channel Five were putting together a typically sensitive Race Swap show, it might have seemed like a good idea at the time to have ex-EastEnders star and, for the seniors among you, Runaround presenter Mike Reid black up and deliver his material in a Rastafarian guise. ‘It was all about how his comedy would work coming out of him if he was black,’ recalls Donnelly still sounding fairly aghast at the scenario. ‘It was probably the worst show I’ve ever seen but it was still an interesting experience watching how someone’s jokes would work if the comic looked completely different.’ For 28-year-old Donnelly, this notion has some resonance, given that he has cultivated an intriguing look himself, with curly hair and tinted glasses that wouldn’t appear wholly out of place on a spoof 70s porn movie directed by Judd Apatow. But slowly, Donnelly has tried to escape the potential trap this might impose upon him. ‘I’ve had this hair since I started out and I’ve always had the tinted glasses; I’ve copied my dad on that – it’s some weird south London taxi driver thing. When I was 18 and needed glasses, I got those but never thought it was something I had to have on stage. But two years ago I got normal, dark-rimmed standard ones and when I first wore them on stage it was the worst gig I ever had. And I just thought, “without the tinted glasses I’m nothing”.’
While getting his hair cut and donning less retro specs is not something he’s afraid of, last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominee knows where to draw the line. ‘What I could never do is properly smarten up. I don’t think my style of comedy would work if I came out in a smart suit, it would be ridiculous. With someone like Michael McIntyre, in his voice and with his manner, a suit works. But if I did that, I’d just look like I’d come from a job interview.’ (Brian Donaldson)
Edinburgh Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. See Fri 19.
✽✽ Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask for
One Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.30pm. £16–£18. A new stand-up show from the comedian’s comedian. See 5 Things. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Fri 19 for line-up.
Sunday 21
Glasgow ✽✽ Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870
600 6055. 3pm. £3. Live comedy for ages 8–12. Vladimir McTavish and Bruce Devlin are joined by visitor Carl Donnelly (see preview). No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult. FREE Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 8.30pm. A free night of comedy from Alan Anderson and friends.
✽✽ Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). In the land of the Sunday Service Mr Redmond confounds the audience and introduces Carl Donnelly (see preview), Nathan Caton, Graham Mackie and Ray Bradshaw. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway?
The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1pm. Stu and Garry continue to cheer up lunchtime audiences with their improv skillz. Food available.
✽✽ Russell Kane: Human Dressage The Stand, 5 York Place,
558 7272. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). Chirpy Russell Kane discusses the ins and outs of preening, posing and prancing, in a show which promises to be a relentless gallop through Comedyland. See preview at list.co.uk.
Monday 22
Glasgow ✽✽ Russell Kane: Human Dressage The Stand, 333
Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). See Sun 21.