list.co.uk/comedy Tuesday 7
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. This show picks out some of Scottish comedy’s freshest talent. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. Weekly beginner’s showcase with Danny Angelo and host Gus Lymburn.
Edinburgh Danny Bhoy Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.30. £16.50. An evening which will be recorded for a DVD, it combines material from Bhoy’s last two shows. The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 6.
✽✽ Wicked Wenches The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6
(£5; members £3). The monthly offering of the funniest girls out there features Tiffany Stevenson (see 5 Things), Jessica Fostekew, Julia Sutherland and Becky Price with reliable old Susan Calman on hosting duty.
Wednesday 8
Glasgow ✽✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333
Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 6. FREE Gong Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 07909 822841. 8.30pm. A series of acts try to beat the gong, as the audience votes off those they don’t like.
✽✽ Wicked Wenches The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879.
8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £3). See Tue 7.
Edinburgh Danny Bhoy Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.30. £16.50. See Tue 7. Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). Scotland’s comedy newbies show off their skills, with host Liam Withnail. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. A new topical show, recorded for a podcast, dissecting the week’s events. Jo Caulfield and Keir McAllister shall be among those in attendance.
Thursday 9
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). Another weekend of acts settle in with Thursday’s show: the energetic Martin Mor, Parrot, Jessica Fostekew, Gareth Waugh and host, Raymond Mearns.
Edinburgh ✽✽ The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Steve Hall appears tonight with Graeme Thomas, Tiffany Stevenson (see 5 Things) and it’s all hosted by lovely Siân Bevan. Comedy Academy The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 9.30pm. £3. See Thu 2.
Friday 10 Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm. £11–£14 (family £24). See Fri 3. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 9 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. With Gary Little, Stuart Mitchell and comic oddity Keith Carter as Nige.
PREVIEW STAND-UP CHRIS RAMSEY Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb; University of St Andrews Students Association, Thu 23 Feb
During Chris Ramsey’s stand-up appearance on Russell Howard’s Good News from 2010, there’s a moment when the camera cuts to a shot of happy, laughing people. In among them is one seemingly less than amused woman who appears to have taken offence at the phrase ‘dilapidated woman’. Context aside, it seems unlikely that Ramsey would ever go out of his way to offend anyone, given that he is yet another in a long line of ‘genial Geordie’ comics as inhabited by the likes of Ross Noble, Gavin Webster and Jason Cook. ‘If I can gauge that someone has been offended I will address it,
though probably without apologising,’ Ramsey notes. ‘But as I’m seen as this happy-go-lucky comic with all my smiling and carrying-on and this accent, I can probably get away with anything. As long as you get the tone right and make sure it’s funny then it’s all fine. But I don’t think I’m the guy that people go up to angrily at the end of a gig.’ Certainly, in the last two Edinburgh Fringes, Ramsey has tended to have people streaming out of his gigs with a warm, fuzzy feeling. His touring show, Offermation, was also a hit with the Edinburgh Comedy Award judges and earned him a shortlist nomination. ‘Just before I went up, someone said to me that I might be in with a chance of a nomination and I thought, “Oh shut up, I don’t need that; that’s awful”. I didn’t really see myself as a critically-acclaimed comic who gets nominated for that award but now I can go away and work in an office for the rest of my life and no one can take that away from me. That box is ticked. I could present T4 forever and still be “Chris Ramsey, award- nominated stand-up comedian”.’ (Brian Donaldson)
Edinburgh Friday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £8. See Fri 3. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5. See Fri 3. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. A great line-up this weekend, comprising R David, Stu Who? and Ron Vaudry. We stuck Mr Who? in the middle to avoid any weirdness with punctuation. Foster’s Comedy Live Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 9pm. £10–£13. Treat yourselves to wrestling maniac Billy Kirkwood, Daliso Chaponda and Wayne Deakin.
✽✽ The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10
(£9; members £5). See Thu 9 for line- up, plus Kevin Lockard, while Joe Heenan replaces Siân Bevan. The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 11b Bristo Place, 225 9893. 10.30pm. £5.50 (students £5). See Fri 3.
Saturday 11 Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm & midnight. £11–£14. See Sat 4. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. See Fri 10. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 9 for line-up.
Comedy
5 THINGS
YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . TIFFANY STEVENSON 1 Tiffany Stevenson began her career in the entertainment biz as an actress and has appeared onscreen in The Office, took a lead role in gritty indie feature Spinning Candyfloss and popped up in Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Dirtee Cash’ video. 2 Her Edinburgh Fringe debut was in 2006 as part of the cast for Talk Radio, the Eric Bogosian-scripted play and movie which was directed for the festival by Stewart Lee. Since then she has performed solo shows such as Along Came a Spider, Dictators and Cavewoman.
3 We can’t be sure whether Stevenson will show us any evidence to back it up, but her 2012 New Year resolution was to learn an instrument to a ‘decent standard’. Previously, she had managed to be dead good at ‘Wonderwall’ on the guitar.
4 Stevenson filled the shoes of an absent Phil Nichol on the Old Rope night which he had started back in 2005. It went so well that the pair have collaborated and extended the themed show in which punters are allowed to remorselessly heckle acts if they hear any of their older material. Glenn Wool used to heckle by singing Guns N’ Roses songs. 5 Last summer she came third in Show Me the Funny, ITV’s largely- derided ‘X-Factor for comics’ contest which featured stand-ups being given tasks such as finding women called Michelle in a busy high street and bringing together strangers for a Blind Date segment. Incredibly, the producers did manage to squeeze some stand-up into the programme. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 7, Thu 9–Sat 11 Feb; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 8 Feb.
Edinburgh Saturday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £10. See Sat 4. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. See Fri 3. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. See Fri 10. Foster’s Comedy Live Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 9pm. £10–£13. See Fri 10, plus Phil Differ. 2 Feb–1 Mar 2012 THE LIST 63