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 FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. Showcasing some of the scene’s freshest talent. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Start your weekend early, you cheeky scamps, with Jo Caulfield, Ian Moore and John Scott. Edinburgh Thursday Notebook Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £3. Ben Verth introduces the new talent and material night with the occasional old- timer dropping by to polish their act. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Martin Mor is tonight’s compere, with the quirksome Markus Birdman, Allyson Smith and Eddie O’Dwyer in tow. See My Comedy Hero, right.
Friday 14
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 13 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. Rudi Lickwood, Stuart Mitchell, the Reverend Obadiah Steppenwolfe III and Mick Ferry are primed to make you miserable lot laugh. Edinburgh Absolute Improv Leith Dockers Club, 17–17a Academy Street, Leith, 467 7879. 8–9pm. £6 (£5). ToBeContinued take audience suggestions and turn them into fast-paced improv. Leith Festival. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. Ben Verth presents a weekend packed full of top comedians to tickle your funny bone in an entirely appropriate way. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 13 for line-up.
Saturday 15 Glasgow Cargo Hold Comedy for Kids The Tall Ship at Riverside, 150 Pointhouse Place, 357 3699. 1.30–2.30pm. £5 (children £3). No swears, no dirty stuff, just good, clean laughs for ages 12+. West End Festival.
MY COMEDY HERO MARTIN MOR The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 13–Sat 15 Jun; The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 11–Sat 13 Jul
My comedy hero is the late, great Hovis Presley. Now, I realise that a lot of people reading this won’t know who he is, but I would say of all the acts that I have worked with during my career (and I have worked with most of the UK’s big names), Hovis was the only one that could be described as a genius.
He performed poetry that was at once heartbreakingly sad, and
hilariously funny, and became a bit of a cult figure in the early days of the Manchester comedy scene. I was lucky to become good friends with him. In those early days we would be performing in rooms above pubs, often to audiences who had never seen live comedy before. Never a natural performer, and often plagued by nerves, Hovis’ brilliant material would steal any show. Even when the chance came for him to move on to bigger things, he still stayed true to his roots and kept performing in the small venues that he loved.
Hovis died tragically in 2005 at the age of 45 leaving behind only a couple of clips on YouTube, and a great little book of his poetry, Poetic Off Licence. I often re-read my very dog-eared copy just to remind myself that this is the height that the bar was raised to. The biggest compliment that comedians can pay another comedian is to say that they would pay to see them (we get into gigs for free). I would pay anything to see Hovis Presley again. (Interview by Brian Donaldson)
✽ Ken Dodd Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7pm. £21
(£19). Stand-up and songs, celebrating over 50 years in the business. Strap yourself in, he could be going for one of his three-hour sets . . . Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 14. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £7 (£5). The granddaddy of Glasgow comedy venues attracts some of Scotland’s best comedians to its wee basement of joy. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 13 for line-up.
Edinburgh Absolute Improv Leith Dockers Club, 17–17a Academy Street, Leith, 467 7879. 8–9pm. £6 (£5). See Fri 14.
The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. See Fri 14. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 13 for line-up. Sunday 16
Renfield Street, 332 1846. 5pm. £21 Glasgow ✽ Ken Dodd Pavilion Theatre, 121 ✽ Indian Takeaway with Hardeep
Singh Kohli Tron Theatre, 63
(£19). See Sat 15.
Trongate, 552 4267. 7.45pm. £12–£16. Hardeep mixes food, chat and comedy in a show where he orders a curry then races to cook his own before the takeaway arrives. See preview, page 58.
Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Irish jester Redmond returns with his brand of lo-fi comedy to ease your weekend to a chilled close. Featuring John Scott. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy fire up the imagination with another slice of improv action. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). End the week with the generally very chilled Sunday offering. With Allyson Smith and Rick Molland.
COMEDY
5 THINGS . . . DAVID O’DOHERTY 1 O’Doherty’s original ambition was to follow his father into the world of jazz music but he realised quite quickly (with his dad’s critical words ringing in his ears: ‘you can’t polish a turd’) that it wasn’t really for him. He does credit his old man for getting him into comedy, though, via tapes of Monty Python and Lenny Bruce. 2 For a while, the Dubliner was consumed with the idea of being the most popular David O’Doherty on the internet but faced stiff opposition from a mathematician who discovered one of the highest ever prime numbers, a human rights barrister and a classical violinist. These days, he’s doing alright, Google search engine-wise. 3 He co-wrote 100 Facts About Pandas with Mike Ahern and Claudia O’Doherty (no relation, weirdly), which featured all-true bits of knowledge such as these: a panda can outrun a cheetah when moving backwards and that when woven into a fabric, panda fur is bulletproof. 4 The DO’D won the So You Think You’re Funny prize in 1999 (seeing off Russell Howard and Josie Long on the night) and in 2006, he scooped the if.comedy Edinburgh award, leaving the shortlisted likes of Russell Kane and Rhod Gilbert shaking their fists in his wake. 5 In 2007, he recorded a song called ‘Orange’ with the aim that it would make him a minor pop sensation. His target was the number 27 slot on the Irish charts. Launched at an Oxfam shop in Dublin, it eventually reached number 30. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Alternative Comedy Experience, The Stand, Edinburgh, Mon 8 Jul.
Monday 17
Glasgow ✽ Wasasa Comedy Night, The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844
335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). Kevin Bridges headlines a bill that also includes Gary Little, Viv Gee, Wayne Mazadza, Sean Reid and Nico Ndlovu.
Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. The Stand’s spankingly good new talent night, encouraging the latest comedy stars out of the woodwork. Then maybe putting them back in afterwards. With Harriet Kemsley. 13 Jun–11 Jul 2013 THE LIST 57