Comedy Wednesday 3
Glasgow Electric Tales Rose and Grants, 27 Trongate, Merchant City, 553 0501. 7.30pm. £8. Comedy and storytelling making for a chilled night of funny yarns and verse told by a range of performers. Part of Glasgay! and the Glasgow Cabaret Festival.
✽ Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues SECC, Finnieston
Quay, 0844 395 4000. 8pm. £30. See Thu 20. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 810.30pm. £3. See Wed 26.
✽ Wicked Wenches The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £3). Another selection of fresh-faced ladies shaking their comedy tail feathers. Tonight with Susan Calman and Vikki Stone.
Edinburgh Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 225 3784. 8.30pm. £3 (£2). See Wed 26. The Broken Windows Policy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). New skits and character treats featuring the best of fresh Scots comedy, including Larah Bross, Dave MacGregor and Ben Verth.
Thursday 4 Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Ooh, you look like you could use a laugh. Let Pierre Hollins, Susan Murray and Bruce Devlin make you smile this weekend.
Friday 5
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 4 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Show Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. Bryan Lacey and Will-E Robo make your weekend a funnier one. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5. See Fri 21. Porty Comedy Night Portobello Indoor Bowling, 20 Westbank Street, 669 0878. 8.30pm. £6. Bringing the laughs are Bill Dewar, Graeme Thomas and host Steven Davidson. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). Music and laughs from Vikki Stone, with Mick Ferry and host Jonathan Mayor.
Saturday 6
Glasgow ✽ Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues SECC, Finnieston
Quay, 0844 395 4000. 6.30pm. £30. See Thu 20. Jongleurs Comedy Show Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 5. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 22. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 4 for line-up.
Edinburgh ✽ Mark Steel’s in Town Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228
1404. 8pm. £15 (£5). Intelligent, rant- riddled comedy from the verbose stand- up who seems hell-bent on travelling the country finding the quirks in each town he visits.
60 THE LIST 20 Sep–18 Oct 2012
TV THE THICK OF IT BBC Two, Sat, 9.45pm ●●●●●
The ConDem coalition has been both a godsend and an almighty cul de sac for political satirists. Having two sets of people needing to work together for the greater good while not hating each other’s guts in public is almost what The Thick of It has been about from the start. There’s Malcolm Tucker and there’s everyone else trying not to be caught in his profanity-strewn crosshairs. The tension and paranoia that inevitably arise within a political party as it attempts to hold onto fading power were beautifully realised through the blazing-eyed fury of Tucker and the abject humiliation of constant backtracking that he forced all and sundry into.
Now though, where do you go with a real-life government that does likewise in full glare of the media?
For Armando Iannucci, this means taking the Tories into the wilderness to go ‘policyjamming’ at a remote Thought Camp. You already know how Peter Mannion will react to sitting cross-legged in a circle for an Easter weekend of ‘imagineering’. Back at a very sparse DoSAC base, the LibDems’ Fergus and Adam are experiencing an ‘ideagasm’ with an attractive young economist for whom they might shell out £2bn to start a new bank. A death in the political family halts everyone’s plans in their tracks. With this final series focusing on a toothless opposition led by an increasingly desperate Nicola Murray in
one episode and the accident-prone administration the next (though presumably number seven will have the whole house of cards collapsing in a curse-laden heap), it merely seals the feeling that Iannucci reckons both sides are as feckless as each other. The only real difference is that one half has Malcolm Tucker (‘what is this: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Cunt?’) and the other just doesn’t. (Brian Donaldson)
The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. See Fri 21. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Fri 5 for line-up.
Sunday 7 Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 3pm. £4. Live comedy without the rude bits. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult.
✽ Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues SECC, Finnieston
Quay, 0844 395 4000. 6.30pm. £30. See Thu 20. The Greater Shawlands Republic The Bungo Bar & Kitchen, 1721 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. 8.30pm. £5.99 for Southsiders and comrades; £6 for Westenders. Monthly laughs in aid of the campaign for a free and independent Shawlands. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 23.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 23. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm.
£6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 23, but with Jonathan Mayor. Monday 8
Glasgow John Bishop: Rollercoaster SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. 6.30pm. £30. The genial Liverpudlian continues his meteoric rise to megastardom. See interview, page 61. Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). See Mon 1. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 24. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 24, but with Stuart Mitchell.
Tuesday 9
Glasgow John Bishop: Rollercoaster SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. 6.30pm. £30. See Mon 8. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See Tue 25, but with Stuart Mitchell. Edinburgh Jo Caulfield Presents . . . The Speakeasy Scottish Storytelling
Centre, 4345 High Street, 556 9579. 810pm. £5 (£4). A relaxed evening featuring a diverse bill of artists telling true stories and giving some unexpected insights into their worlds. The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 24. Midweek Comedy Cabaret The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). Let The Stand help you over the midweek bump with four comedians for four pounds.
Wednesday 10
Glasgow John Bishop: Rollercoaster SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. 6.30pm. £30. See Mon 8. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 810.30pm. £3. See Wed 26. 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, 225 3784. 8.30pm. £3 (£2). See Wed 26. Melting Pot The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £2.50). OK audience, you’re in charge