Comedy
Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Nathan Caton, James Kirk, Jamie Dalgleish (he’s the current Scottish Comedian of the Year, you know?) and Sarah Cassidy join Michael for some laughs, chortles and guffaws. WEF.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. Another slice of improv action.
✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 5pm. £10. Catch The Boyle in a warm-up show for his upcoming Last Days of Sodom tour. Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). End another tough old week with the chilled Sunday offering, featuring a dolly mixture of comedians each week. Tonight we have the comedy pleasures of misters John Scott, Phil O’Shea and Scott Agnew.
Monday 25
Glasgow ✽ Fringe Preview Double Bill: Phil Nichol and Scott Agnew The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10. Phil presents Rants, the title of which speaks for itself, while Scott’s new show Tales of the Sauna gives a less-than-salubrious look at the world of gay men’s saunas.
Edinburgh ✽ Comedy Variety Show City Café, 19 Blair Street, 220 0125. 8–10.30pm.
£3 (£2; £1 if booked in advance through lastminute.com). New material night, hosted by Keara Patricia Murphy, where anything goes (as long as it’s funny). The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. Monday night new talent and new material night with the occasional pro dropping by to polish their act. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. Weekly showcase for new comics, some of whom are stepping out for the very first time, so keep your eyes peeled for the next big thing (we hope).
Tuesday 26
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. Picking out the freshest new talent. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. The bright young things of Scotland’s comedy circuit strut their stuff for an entirely reasonable two pounds. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 25. FREE Tuesday Night Comedy Jam Belushi’s, 9–13 Market Street, 226 1446. 8–10.30pm. A wheen of stand-ups and
comedy acts presented by Rick Molland; there are open spots available too.
✽ Fringe Preview Double Bill: Jarred Christmas and Lloyd
Langford The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10. Two Fringe faves to see here while you can still walk freely on the Royal Mile. Jarred presents his show Let’s Go Mofo followed by Lloyd’s One Day in the Life of Lloyd Owen Langford.
Wednesday 27
Glasgow ✽ Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Sun 24. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 07909 822841. 8–10.30pm. £3. Julia Sutherland hosts a night for comedians to try out their latest gags. Best of Irish Comedy The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £7 (£6; members £3). Paddy Lennox and Janice Phayre are in town.
Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 225 3784. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). A host of new faces show off their rib-tickling skills. Hosted by Liam Withnail. Best of Scottish Comedy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £3). A showcase of the finest comedy talent from north of the border. With Alan Francis.
STAND-UP CRAIG CAMPBELL Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Sat 30 Jun
Describing himself as ‘looking good in the wind’, Craig Campbell has no truck with anyone having a dig at his image. For one thing, the wild man of Canadian comedy is, and always has been, a man at ease wearing shorts. ‘I was a bit of a giantkiller regarding bullies at home,’ he notes of his Calgary upbringing. ‘I always had the secret power of being a psycho. I had several bullying incidents but they tended to end pretty horribly for the bully and people then just quit bothering me about shorts or anything else.’ A word to the wise for the would-be heckler there. Chances are that Campbell’s experience (he’s been doing this stand-up lark since the mid-90s) is enough to repel any loose-tongued miscreant in his crowd, but he feels such a bond with Scottish audiences
that, chances are, nothing untoward is likely to occur here. ‘I’m certainly of the Scottish stock,’ he growls proudly. ‘My grandfather was from Edinburgh and grandmother from Bridge of Weir. My mum went to Greenock Academy and came over when she was 17 and had wonderful stories of the homeland. Growing up, Scotland was the promised land for me and so it’s such a special thing to be able to perform in the country of my ancestry.’ His love of Scotland broadens out to an appreciation
of the UK and, in particular, its positive attitude to stand-up comedy. ‘You’re not too judgemental about where the comedy comes from. When I left North America, the comedy uniform there was the Seinfeld jacket and trainers, but in the UK you had people dressed in a strange head-dress or a chicken suit. All the audience cared about was whether it was a funny chicken or not.’ (Brian Donaldson)
66 THE LIST 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012
Thursday 28
Glasgow ✽Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Sun 24. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Bruce Devlin has his host hat on tonight, then there’s Jason John Whitehead, Paddy Lennox and Ray Bradshaw to enjoy.
Edinburgh Gong Show The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8–10pm. £3. See Thu 21. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Scene stalwart Raymond Mearns hosts Alan Francis, Janice Phayre and Jim Park.
Friday 29
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 28 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. Kane Brow, Stu Who?, Wes Zaharuk and Wayne Deakin fire comedy in your direction all evening. Edinburgh Friday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £8. See Fri 22. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5–£7. See Fri 22. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 28 for line-up.
Dundee Jimmy Carr: Gagging Order Caird Hall, City Square, 01382 434940. 8pm. £25. The deadpan one presents his new crude, rude but clever show, packed with jokes that teeter on the verge of acceptability.
Saturday 30
Glasgow Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 8.15pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 23. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 29. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 28 for line-up.
Edinburgh ✽ Craig Campbell Brunton Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665
2240. 8pm. £12. He’s built on his circuit reputation by supporting Frankie Boyle, now Campbell is here on his own two feet, spinning ferocious yarns. See preview, left. Saturday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £10. See Fri 22. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5–£7. See Fri 22. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 28 for line-up.
Sunday 1
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 3pm. £4. Live comedy for younger fans, particularly those aged 8–12. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult.
✽ The Greater Shawlands Republic The Bungo Bar & Kitchen, 17–21 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. 8pm. £6 (£5.99). The Greater Shawlands Republic enters its fourth age with a gala night