Comedy
STAND-UP MAEVE HIGGINS The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 7–Sat 9 Oct
Irish comic Maeve Higgins is chatting to me from a New York which is just recovering from a tornado. As far as metaphors go, it’s as far as you could possibly get to encapsulating the comedy ethos of this breezy Celt. With Josie Long a pal and having performed a kids show with David O’Doherty, Higgins belongs to the breed of sensitive comedians that is miles away from the obscenity-friendly gagmeisters who have been filling the Daily Mail’s letters pages since Sachsgate. ‘There are so many shows that I’ve seen that are deliberately provocative and I find that so boring,’ mildly states Higgins. ‘I like people who are silly and funny but are being truthful and can express themselves honestly, not just doing, “hey, a rape gag”. The weird thing is how passive audiences are, I think people should heckle more. I saw a gig in New York last night where the host was so misogynist and homophobic and talking about shooting his girlfriend in the face, and some people were sitting there smiling who were clearly not enjoying it.’
A comic advocating a role for the heckler in comedy is certainly a rare thing, especially from someone who had various objects hurled at her during a student gig in Dundalk when she started talking about her cats. ‘If I was saying something that had offended people, I think it would be OK for someone to say something about it. Just because I have a mic doesn’t mean that my opinions are more important than them. Some of my comedian friends disagree; they think you should say anything and no one should try to stop it. But I’m so sick of people getting away with lazy shock stuff.’ (Brian Donaldson)
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 The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Joe Heenan hosts the weekend, introducing the weird and wonderful Addy Van Der Borgh, improv from Stu & Garry, Maeve Higgins and Ben Verth. See preview for Higgins.
Thursday 7 Friday 8
Glasgow FREE Bratchy and The Wee Man’s Comedy Pub Quiz The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 8pm. More shenanigans, questions and prizes from brothers of glee, The Wee Man and Bratchy. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Dave Fulton re-aligns your mind with his no- nonsense comedy. With Shazia Mirza, Bruce Fummey, Davey See and host Billy Kirkwood.
Edinburgh ✽✽ Ross Noble: Nonsensory Overload Playhouse, 18–22
Greenside Place, 0844 847 1660. 8pm. £26.50. The quick-witted Geordie nutjob is back on tour. Hilarious ramblings ahoy.
46 THE LIST 7–21 Oct 2010
Glasgow Highlight Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. Bruce Devlin is joined by Sam Avery, Roger D and Dave Johns. Entry includes access to after show club. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 7 for line-up. Jongleurs Tiger Tiger, Glassford Street, 08700 111 960. 8.30pm. £10. Mike Wilkinson, Gerry K, Dougie Dunlop and Sandy Nelson comprise a solid weekend’s line-up at Jongleurs’ new-ish home.
Edinburgh ✽✽ An Audience with Howard Marks The Pleasance Theatre, 60
Pleasance, 650 2656. 8pm. £10 (£6). The
dope folk legend tells tales of his extraordinary life; so extraordinary, in fact, that it’s being made into a film. Highlight Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 8.30pm. From £10. Radio 4’s Susan Calman joins Alex Boardman, Wade McElwain and David Hadingham for some joke-telling and that. Dancing after the show. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £4). See Thu 7 for line-up. The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 11b Bristo Place, 225 9893. 10.30pm. £4.50 (£4; members £3.50). Late night laughter from Edinburgh’s long-standing improvised comedy troupe.
Saturday 9
Glasgow Highlight Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. See Fri 8. Half Price Comedy Club Uisge Beatha, 232 Woodlands Road, 332 1622. 8.30pm. £6 (£4). Ha Ha Comedy’s bargain comedy night continues with a new line-up every week. Jongleurs Tiger Tiger, Glassford Street, 08700 111 960. 8.30pm. £10. See Fri 8. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 7 for line-up. Edinburgh Highlight Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 8.30pm. From £10. See Fri 8. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 7 for line-up.
Sunday 10
Glasgow ✽✽ An Audience with Howard Marks Oran Mor, Byers Road, 357
6200. 7pm. £15. See Fri 8. FREE Comedy at the Ivory Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 636 0223. 8pm. The Shawlands gig continues its rise from the ashes, with Graham Mackie on hosting duties. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Calm yourself and chill your mind into the world of Michael Redmond. This week with Stu & Garry, Elaine Malcolmson and Chris Henry.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. The long-standing improvised comedy show continues to add structure and meaning to lazy hungover Sundays. With hot food available and entertainment from Stu & Garry. Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Chirpy host Jeff O’Boyle introduces this evening, including a couple of funny local boys, Bob Graham and Jason Arnstein along with Nick Davies, a man who once worked with Max Clifford. We’re not sure how we feel about that either.
Monday 11
Glasgow Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). Another battle commences between improv experts Garry Dobson, Stu Murphy, Chris Forbes and ‘Improv Warlord’ Billy ‘the hair’ Kirkwood. Edinburgh Fit O’ The Giggles Absolute Beginners Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2 (£1). More comedy goodies from the increasingly long list of hopeful comedians in Scotland, courtesy of the Fit O’The Giggles team.
5 THINGS
YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . DARA O’BRIAIN 1 The Irish comic is a graduate in mathematical physics, a career move that had baffled his parents even more than the eventual vocation he landed. His mother was a housewife, his father a trade- union arbitrator, who was also a choir master, and may well have influenced O’Briain’s later career choice. He remembers watching his father at concerts, talking to audiences between musical pieces, occasionally cracking a joke.
2 O’Briain’s big break came at the age of 22 when he got into kids’ TV presenting while trying to get his stand-up career off the ground. Although it went well, he realised that his look was not especially conducive to making the nippers feel at ease: ‘I was already balding. I looked like a weird uncle.’ 3 He has attained much comedic mileage from the fact that he looks somewhat older than he actually is. The blurb for the BBC show, Three Men in a Boat, described Rory McGrath, Griff Rhys-Jones and O’Briain as ‘middle aged men’. At the time, he was 33. His 2001 Fringe show was based almost entirely on his age, fuelled by the fact that each night, without fail, the audience would gasp in amazement when he announced that he was 29.
4 Defenestration is his favourite word. 5 There were rumours that O’Briain had an ‘interest’ in former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. This came about after a mild bit of ribbing on Mock the Week when Russell Howard seemed to let slip some green-room banter that Dara had a bit of thing for her. In the immediate aftermath, few interviews would go by without this cropping up but it all got slightly out of hand when someone sent him a copy of a lads mag featuring Ms Huq. All that nonsense has safely been put to bed now that she has become Charlie Brooker’s (presumably) less cynical half. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Playhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 14–Sat 16 Oct.
Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). A packed bill of newer acts, and new material, held together by John Ross and Scott Agnew.
Tuesday 12 Glasgow FREE Comedy at the Halt Bar The