list.co.uk/comedy
Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 30. Alfie Moore: I Predicted a Riot The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £8. Former policeman Alfie presents a show about riots throughout history.
Wednesday 9
Glasgow New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 07909 822841. 8pm. £3. See Wed 2. The Fun Junkies The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £2.50). Magic, sketches and musical breaks from the How Do I Get Up There sketch boys. Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). See Wed 2. Bright Club: Edinburgh The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. Staff at Edinburgh’s universities share their tales about the weird world of research.
Thursday 10
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Viz co- founder Simon Donald, Rev Obadiah Steppenwolfe III, the brilliant Jojo Sutherland and host Vladimir McTavish. Edinburgh Gong Show The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £3. See Thu 26. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). With the wonderfully absurd Zoe Lyons, Matt Green, Richard Melvin and Raymond Mearns.
The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 10 for line-up.
Sunday 13
Glasgow FREE Fresh Meat The Butterfly and the Pig, 153 Bath Street, 221 7711. 8.30pm. See Sun 29. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 29 Apr, but with Simon Donald and Chloe Philip. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 29. Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). End the week with this Sunday offering, featuring the intelligent delights of Matt Green and host Chris Forbes.
Monday 14
Glasgow Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). It’s a fight to the death (or until one of them needs a sit down) between improv experts Garry Dobson, Stu Murphy and Billy Kirkwood. Edinburgh Comedy Variety Show City Café, 19 Blair Street, 220 0125. 8pm. £3 (£2; £1 if booked in advance through lastminute.com). See Mon 30. The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 30. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. Weekly showcase for new comics.
Friday 11 Tuesday 15
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 10 for line-up, but Rev Obadiah is replaced by Rob Rouse. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. Featuring David Hadingham, Dave Longley, Gary Little and Dominic Woodward. Edinburgh Friday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £8. See Fri 27. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £12–£15. A team of Scotland’s best, featuring Des Clarke, Phil Walker, Dougie Dunlop and Mike Milligan. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 10 for line-up.
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. See Tue 1. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. Long- running beginners night. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 30. Jo Caulfield’s Comedy Collective The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4). Jo Caulfield hosts an evening of experimental stand-up and sketches, plus a game show featuring some of Edinburgh’s finest. See Realist, page 5. FREE Prize Comedy Constitution Bar, 48 Constitution Street, Leith, 538 9374. 8pm. Laughs and prizes with Billy Kirkwood, Sean Grant, Niall Browne and Steven Davidson.
Saturday 12 Wednesday 16
Glasgow Freddie Starr: Back From the Jungle Tour SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. 8pm. £21.50. Freddie Starr and his ‘outrageous’ comedy. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 8.15pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 28. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 11. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Fri 11 for line-up. Edinburgh Saturday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £10. See Fri 27. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. See Fri 11.
Glasgow Benefit for Universal Comedy The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7). Comedians raising cash for Universal Comedy, a charity providing comedy workshops to those with ill health, mental health issues and the unemployed. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 07909 822841. 8pm. £3. See Wed 9. Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). See Wed 2. Benefit for Quarriers The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £7 (£6). Banding together to raise cash for Quarriers are Mark Nelson, Scott Gibson, Darren Connell, Rev Obadiah Steppenwolfe III and Mikey Adams.
Comedy
MY COMEDY HERO JIMEOIN Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sun 6 May
I’ve been doing comedy for 22 years now. Mostly in Australia but as of late thanks to McIntyre, Live at the Apollo and the Royal Variety Show, I’ve started to get an audience when I tour in the UK. But this is on the back of a lot of blood, sweat and tears. So now, after all that, you want me to sing the praises of some other comic and give him the publicity that my agent says I sorely need? Well, fuck that. All right, I will, but as long as they’re dead. Big fan of Mitch Hedberg. First saw him in Kilkenny. Went through a
period of hating most stand-up after years of seeing a lot of comics become successful who are basically shit. Bitterness really on my behalf, looking back. Then you see someone who makes you realise why you liked it in the first place. Someone with jokes. Well-crafted jokes that had weird subject matter. He is just great. Was. He’s dead now.
Who else? Stewart Francis. Is he dead? Anyway, I like him, or rather his jokes. I don’t actually know him but he really makes me laugh. As a general rule I find if I like the comic as a person I don’t really find their act that funny. And vice versa. Being a bit of an arsehole is always funnier.
Tommy Cooper is one of my all-time favourites. I think a lot of people say that, but he really tickled me. I didn’t watch much comedy as a kid but Tommy caught my eye. I don’t think he was an arsehole. There goes my theory. Anyway, there are loads of great acts out there, but it’s always so much better when you discover them yourself. (Interview by Brian Donaldson)
26 Apr–24 May 2012 THE LIST 59