list.co.uk/comedy Events are listed by date, then by city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to comedy@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Kirstyn Smith. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 13
Glasgow ✽The Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road,
0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10). With comedy crackers Susan Morrison, Tom Stade (see preview, right), David Longley and Mikey Adams.
Edinburgh Napier University Drama Soc Xmas Show The Bongo Club, Moray House, 37 Holyrood Road, 558 7604. 7pm. £5 (£4). Comedy sketch show from Napier University Drama Society.
✽Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272.
8.30pm. £12 (£10). De-stress with Martin Mor, James Kirk (see My Comedy Hero,
page 86), Simon Donald and Jo Caulfield.
Friday 14
Glasgow ✽The Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road,
0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £15. See Thu 13.
Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. Ben Verth presents a weekend packed full of top local and visiting comedians.
✽Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272.
8.30pm. £12 (£10). See Thu 13.
Saturday 15
Glasgow ✽The Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road,
0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £15. See Thu 13. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £7 (£5). The long-standing home of comedy in Glasgow continues to attract some of Scotland’s best comedians.
STAND-UP TOM STADE The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 13–Sat 15 Dec; The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 27 Dec–Wed 2 Jan
Edinburgh-based Canadian Tom Stade is a man who likes to relax. So much so that he called his first Fringe show, And Relax. He even has a pretty laid-back attitude to teenagers. ‘We have a lot to learn from them, maybe some kind of patience or, as I like to call it, “who cares?” I think that’s an attitude that would solve a lot of problems across the world. If the Jewish people over in Palestine had teenage attitudes, that would be great, though not a lot would get done until the afternoon. Then again, any decision that’s made in the morning is a little hasty.’ Stade’s positive attitude to the younger citizens in our community
can also be witnessed by the fact that he has taken Daniel Sloss under his wing, though the benefits from their writing sessions isn’t going all one way. ‘He brought a little youthful attitude to me and when I hung out with him it was a lot of fun. because I’d forgotten what it was like to be 20 and to write like a 20-year-old. The enthusiasm that comes with that lit a fire in me and I appreciated that, for sure.’ What Stade hasn’t appreciated recently was the negative reaction to Tramadol Nights, Frankie Boyle’s Channel 4 sketch and stand-up show which caused, shall we say, something of a stramash. Stade and Jim Muir (aka Obadiah Steppenwolfe III) were Boyle’s co-writers and while they happily took the plaudits that came the show’s way, they also had to face some serious flak. ‘It actually bugged people whereas most other comedy shows would have been there and gone. At least when we died, we died in flames, but it was funny flames. We created something that made people talk about it for a solid two weeks which is like a lifetime for a TV comedy show.’ (Brian Donaldson)
Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. See Fri 14.
✽Stand Christmas Special The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272.
8.30pm. £15. See Thu 13.
Sunday 16
Glasgow Improv Dogs The Bungo Bar & Kitchen, 17–21 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. 7.30–10.30pm. £5. Zany blend of improv and sketch from the Dogs. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). With David Kay, John McGoldrick and Jamie Dalgleish. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy provide a slice of improv action. Sit Down Stand Up Comedy Club City Café, 19 Blair Street, 07896 628288. 3–5.30pm. £4. Have your fill of relaxed Sunday afternoon comedy. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Susan Calman with Richard Melvin and Rory Telfer.
Monday 17
Glasgow Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). Festive fight to the death between Garry Dobson, Stu Murphy and ‘Improv Warlord’ Billy Kirkwood. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. Ben Verth introduces the new talent and new material night. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. Weekly showcase for new comics, with Chris Conroy.
Tuesday 18
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. Some of Scotland’s freshest talent. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. Beginners’ showcase with Scott Agnew. Edinburgh FREE Tuesday Night Comedy Jam Belushi’s, 9–13 Market Street, 226 1446. 8–10.30pm. Stand-ups and comedy acts presented by Rick Molland. Limited open spots available too. Bright Club: Edinburgh The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. See preview in Around Town.
Wednesday 19
Glasgow New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8–10.30pm. £3. Comedians try out their latest gags. 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 Melting Pot The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £2.50). Vote for the best sketches and skits from local comedy types.
Thursday 20 Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Cheering up your last weekend before Christmas are Susan Calman, Louis Ramey, Greg Cook and Gus Lymburn.
COMEDY
TOP 5 . . . COMEDY SHOWS OF THE YEAR
1 Mime Character comedy, sketch shows and straight-down-the- line stand-up made way for silent comedy this August when Doctor Brown (pictured) walked off with the Edinburgh Comedy Award and The Boy with Tape on His Face won the panel award. Controversial US act Billy the Mime and old-school Aussie Tom Flanagan also charmed the Fringe’s socks off. 2 Pappy’s While the Doc proved a popular choice for the main award, Pappy’s had been the people’s favourites for the gong with the misleadingly-titled (we trust) Last Show Ever! Quite obviously their finest hour to date, the trio’s Fringe affair garnered an astonishing collection of five-star ratings before hitting the nation during the autumn.
3 Alexei Sayle The man who pretty much popularised alternative comedy three decades ago brought us some warm-up dates for what will hopefully prove to be a lengthy comeback tour in the near future. He certainly stopped the rot of former stand-up greats making a lukewarm return to the nation’s stages.
4 Alfie Brown That rare thing – an angry young stand-up – Brown set the benchmark for those comics who want to make their way in the comedy world without a leg-up from a certain BBC roadshow. He laid into Rihanna, Adele and bit a hand or two that could have handsomely fed him somewhere down the line. 5 Mark Thomas Perhaps there is a touch of the young Mark Thomas in Alfie Brown, and this year the defiantly political comic went deeply personal. Bravo Figaro! was a moving yet unsentimental theatrey show at the Traverse about his family, in which he delved into his past while helping put on an opera in his dying father’s front room. If you didn’t cry at least twice, then you simply have no soul. (Brian Donaldson)
13 Dec 2012–24 Jan 2013 THE LIST 87