Comedy Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). See Wed 30. Melting Pot The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £2.50). Vote for the best of the new sketches and skits from local comedy types and revel in the fact that you’ve probably cheered up a writer’s night.
Thursday 14 Glasgow Best in the West Comedy Òran Mór, 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 7.30pm. £10. A trio of the best of what Glasgow has to offer: Phil Differ, Gary Little and Bruce Morton. Bright Club Comedy Night The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, 221 7705. 7.30–11pm. £3.50. Glasgow academics
MY COMEDY HERO SCOTT AGNEW Jongleurs, Glasgow, Fri 25 & Sat 26 May; The State Bar, Glasgow, Sat 26 May; The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 21–Sun 24 Jun
Jackie Gleason is probably best known as Buford T Justice from the Smokey and the Bandit movies or Minnesota Fats from The Hustler (for which he earned an Oscar nomination). However, he was a club comic working the circuit and honing his improvisational skills before becoming the highest paid TV star of the 50s. He effectively invented the sitcom with The Honeymooners, the show which The Simpsons is pretty much based on.
He would never rehearse but never got a line wrong, was frequently drunk but always on the money with his performances. When he went on tour he hired a train fitted with a bar and built-in jazz club: musicians included. Gleason was so good he was able to stagger drunk into a meeting with CBS TV executives covered in paint from a party the night before and demand an $11m contract and a house built in the shape of a flying saucer before promptly falling asleep. The suits agreed. The house was built. He spent millions on a box which allegedly contained ectoplasm, but
couldn’t open it or the contents would escape. He vomited on Frank Sinatra, was friends with Richard Nixon and claimed he’d been taken to Area 51 and seen the Roswell Alien. He smoked non-stop which led to ill-health in later life, and when he was admitted to hospital in his dying days he made sure his room had a bar installed, fully stocked with Jack Daniels.
Jackie Gleason was known simply as ‘The Great One’. He was genuinely a comedic first, completely unique and a real star as far removed from the sober, bland, middle-of-the-road comedy ‘talents’ that are paraded on TV today whose material is as dull as their lives. Gleason’s comedy was as loud and colourful as his own life and the world was a better place for it. (Interview by Brian Donaldson) ■ See list.co.uk for more of Scott Agnew’s My Comedy Hero.
84 THE LIST 24 May–21 Jun 2012
swap lab coats for laughs. Hosted by Siân Bevan. Book via the Glasgow Science Festival website.
The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). On tonight: engaging motormouth Neil Delamere, James Dowdeswell, Fern Brady and Raymond Mearns. Edinburgh Gong Show The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8–10pm. £3. See Thu 24. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Old fave Billy Kirkwood hosts award-winning writer/comedian Mark Maier and David Baker.
Friday 15
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 14 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. With Mike Milligan, Patrick Rolink, Slim and David Hadingham. Edinburgh Friday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £8. See Fri 25. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5–£7. See Fri 1.
Saturday 16
Glasgow ✽✽ Ken Dodd Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7pm. £21 (£19). Stand-up and songs in Mr Dodd’s Happiness Show, celebrating over 50 years in the business. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 8.15pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 26. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 15. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 14 for line-up. Edinburgh Saturday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £10. See Fri 25. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5–£7. See Fri 1. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 14 for line-up.
Sunday 17 Glasgow Man vs Woman Òran Mór, 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 6–7pm. £6 (£5). Raymond Friel’s fast-paced sketch show about the ongoing battle between the sexes is filmed for a pilot. ✽✽ Ken Dodd Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7pm. £21 (£19). See Sat 16. Absolute Improv Òran Mór, 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 7.45–9pm. £6 (£5). See Sat 26. FREE Fresh Meat The Butterfly and the Pig, 153 Bath Street, 221 7711. 8.30pm. See Sun 27. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Chilled-out comedy with James Dowdeswell.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 27. ✽✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 5 York Place,
558 7272. 5pm. £10. See Mon 28. Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 27, but with Bruce Morton and Hari Sriskantha.
Monday 18
Glasgow ✽✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 28. Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). See Mon 11. Edinburgh Comedy Variety Show City Café, 19 Blair Street, 220 0125. 8–10.30pm. £3 (£2; £1 if booked in advance through lastminute.com). See Mon 28. The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 4. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 28, but with Kai Humphries.
Tuesday 19
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. See Tue 29. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See Tue 29, but with Kai Humphries. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 4. Jo Caulfield’s Comedy Collective The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4). An evening of experimental stand-up and sketches, plus a game show featuring some of Edinburgh’s finest.
Wednesday 20
Glasgow ✽✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 28. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 07909 822841. 8–10.30pm. £3. See Wed 30. Comedy Benefit for Alzheimer Scotland The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£6). Gary Little, Elaine Malcolmson, Chris Forbes, Asim Ali and Billy Kirkwood raise smiles and funds for Scotland’s leading dementia charity. Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). See Wed 30. Smalls for All Benefit The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10. Join Vladimir McTavish, Susan Calman, Stu & Garry, Jo Caulfield and Susan Morrison to raise funds for a worthwhile cause.
Thursday 21
Glasgow ✽✽ The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Fizzy Billy Kirkwood hosts fab Zoe Lyons and fast-paced Nathan Caton. Edinburgh Gong Show The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8–10pm. £3. See Thu 24. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Scott Agnew (see My Comedy Hero) gets to grips with the outrageous Rev Obadiah Steppenwolfe III and John Scott.