list.co.uk/comedy COMEDY
Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £8 (£6). See Fri 25. with Ian D Montfort, Chris Conroy, Liam Withnail, Hari Sriskantha and Susie McCabe.
Edinburgh Punchline Picture House, 31 Lothian Road, 0844 847 1740. 7.30pm. £15–£18.50. See Fri 25. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £8. See Fri 18. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Fri 25 for line-up.
Sunday 27
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 3pm. £4. A Halloween special from Mad Scientist of Mayhem Billy Kirkwood, plus Neil ‘The Wee Man’ Bratchpiece and Eleanor Morton. Stand Up & Geez It! The SPACE, 34 Argyll Arcade Chambers, Buchanan Street, 222 2333. 7pm. £3. Music and comedy cabaret night with local acts. Tina C: Where the Hell Were You? The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12. Musical satire and political humour from Christopher Green. Part of Glasgay!. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 20. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 20, but
Monday 28
Glasgow Steve Hughes: While It’s Still Legal The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £15 (£13). The Australian stand-up offers hard-edged social commentary and political satire. Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 21, but with Julia Sutherland.
Tuesday 29
Glasgow FREE Comedy in The Basement Tennent’s Basement Bar, 191 Byres Road, 339 7203. 8–10.30pm. See Tue 22. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See Tue 22, with acts tbc. Edinburgh Bright Club: Edinburgh The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. Staff at Edinburgh’s universities are let out for the night to share their tales about the weird, wonderful, and often very funny, world of research.
Wednesday 30 Glasgow Bits & Boobs Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm. £18
STAND-UP TRIPLE BILL THE LUMBERJACKS The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Thu 31 Oct; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 2 Nov
Having reformed in 2012, the Lumberjacks’ tour finally comes to a halt next spring. It’s easy to picture headlines about punch-ups and trashed hotel rooms, except that kind of rock’n’roll behaviour has as much chance of happening as Canada has of invading its larger neighbour. Craig Campbell, Glenn Wool and Stewart Francis all originally hail from the land of the moose, and have been round too many blocks together to let anything untoward occur on or off the tour bus. Plus, they just really enjoy each other’s company.
‘There’s just no stress in it,’ says Campbell. ‘I know them intimately, they know me intimately, I’ll go pick up sandwiches and I know what they’ll want on them. You know their emotional state the second you look at them. There’s no social stress regarding it and it’s quite warming to know you’ll have a nice time no matter what.’ Francis concurs: ‘We’ve known each other for the better part of 20
years and we’re at the age where we’ve been through all that crap. Hanging out with a couple of chums and telling some gags: nothing bad can come out of it. That’s my story anyway.’
The way Wool tells it, the format of their touring show appears fixed, but could alter at any given moment. ‘Campbell likes MCing so he does 15, then me for 30, then him again for 15 and Stewart for 30. But we could witter on for longer if we want to. We all have a pretty big canon of material to go back to, but it will spur us all on to write new stuff. This tour will essentially be the greatest hits package with some new bits mixed in.’ (Brian Donaldson)
(£16). One-woman show from Isobel Rutter. The Incredible Geek Comedy Night The Old Hairdressers, Renfield Lane, 222 2254. 7.30pm. £6 for Geek Comedy Night (£9 for both Geek Comedy Night and Billy Kirkwood’s Show Me Your Tattoo on Thu 24). A host of comedians proudly present a show all about the geekiest things in life. New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8pm. £3. See Wed 23. Best of Irish Comedy The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £7 (£6; members £3). Michael Redmond introduces the funniest of his countrymen and women: Ian Coppinger, Robbie Bonham and Elaine Malcolmson. Edinburgh Steve Hughes: While It’s Still Legal The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £15 (£13). See Mon 28.
Thursday 31
Glasgow ✽ The Lumberjacks The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000.
8pm. £16. See preview, left. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Boothby Graffoe, Nick Beaton, Elaine Malcolmson, Dan Petherbridge and host Ian Coppinger.
Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). With Lloyd Langford, Robbie Bonham, Davey Connor, Bob Graham and host Raymond Mearns. Friday 1
Glasgow John Cooper Clarke SWG3, Studio Warehouse, 100 Eastvale Place, 357 7246. 7pm. £20. The legendary Mancunian punk poet hauls his insatiable laconic wit to Glasgow. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 31, but Eleanor Morton replaces Dan Petherbridge. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.30pm. £8 (£6). See Fri 18, but with Stu Mitchell, Liam Withnail, Rob Crosbie and MC Viv Gee. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £8. See Fri 18. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 31 for line-up.
Saturday 2
Glasgow ✽ Ed Byrne: Roaring Forties Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield
Street, 332 1846. 8pm. £22.50. Observational humour about reaching middle age from the Dublin-stand-up. See First & Last, page 120. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £12. See Fri 1. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 19. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Fri 1 for line-up. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.30pm. £8 (£6). See Fri 1, but Gary Black replaces Rob Crosbie.
5 THINGS . . . YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . BARRY HUMPHRIES 1 At the age of 79, Barry Humphries is finally bringing the live curtain down on Dame Edna Everage with his Eat Pray Laugh! tour. He’ll also be giving a final run-out to the sozzled Sir Les Patterson while that character’s brother, Gerard, an unsavoury Catholic priest, is a new creation for us to experience. 2 Humphries first stumbled upon the roots of a character that has fully formed into the loveably monstrous Dame Edna back in 1955 while he was touring Aus- tralia in a production of Twelfth Night. It was a whole 20 years later that Edna took the UK by storm during a West End tour of Housewife Superstar. 3 In 2001, during the fifth series of Ally McBeal, ‘Dame Edna’ played the role of Claire Otoms, a client of the show’s law firm who later worked there as a secretary. 4 Humphries was seen in the recent series of WW1 sitcom Chickens as the headmaster of the school in which pacifist George taught. 5 Dame Edna’s beloved yet silent sidekick Madge (AKA Emily Perry) died in 2008 at the grand age of 100. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 5–Sat 9 Nov.
✽ The Lumberjacks Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 8pm.
£16. See Thu 31. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £8. See Fri 18. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 31 for line-up.
Sunday 3 Glasgow Ginger Ale Comedy The Roxy 171, 171 Great Western Road, 331 1901. 8.30–10.30pm. £3–£4. Comedians, improvisers and ventriloquists offer games, sketches and characters. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 20, but with Nick Beaton, Rob Kane, Derek Johnston and Wendy Grubb.
Edinburgh Fascinating Aida: Charm Offensive Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.30pm. £21. The satirical cabaret trio take their new show on tour. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 20. Roisin Conaty: Lifehunter The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm.
17 Oct–14 Nov 2013 THE LIST 65