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 20
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Janey Godley is leading the weekend’s fun, alongside Tony Burgess, John Ross and Jonny Pelham. Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Raymond Mearns gets the party started with Des Clarke, John Gillick, Andrew Doyle and James Smith. See Doyle’s My Comedy Hero, right.
Friday 21
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 20 for line-up. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.30pm. £8 (£6). MC is Viv Gee. Obie headlines with support from Richard Pulsford, Craig Johnstone and Ryan Dooley. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. Ben Verth presents a weekend packed full of top local and visiting comedians. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 20, but James Smith is replaced by Lauren Pattison.
Saturday 22
Glasgow The Secret Policeman’s Ball Queen Margaret Union, 22 University Gardens, 339 9784. 7.30pm. £5–£7 in advance; £6–£8 on the door. Billy Kirkwood is back once more for his sixth year compering the ball. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9–11.45pm. £8 (£5). Vladimir McTavish and MC Chris Broomfield are here. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 20 for line-up. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.45pm. £8 (£6). Viv Gee MCs and Obie headlines with support from Richard Pulsford and Iain Pollock. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. See Fri 21. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Fri 21 for line-up.
Sunday 23
Glasgow Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Redmond returns with his brand of lo-fi comedy. Edinburgh The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). End the week with Andrew Doyle. See My Comedy Hero.
Monday 24 Glasgow Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879.
MY COMEDY HERO ANDREW DOYLE The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 20–Sun 23 Feb
Kenneth Williams despised himself. Even at the age of 21 he wrote in his diary that he was a ‘suicidalist’ who didn’t ‘believe in existence at all’. And yet at the same time he looked down on virtually everyone else. One of my favourite entries in his diaries reads: ‘Sometimes I feel so unutterably superior to the people surrounding me that I marvel at my ability to live among them.’
He was a man of endless contradictions – a working-class snob, a self-hating narcissist, a prudish exhibitionist, a celibate who craved intimacy – and I suppose it was from these tortuous origins that his inimitable brand of comedy emerged.
Watching him in old television interviews, I’m always struck not just by his astonishing comic timing and acerbic turn of phrase, but how much of himself he concealed: his whole life was a performance. He seems like a character from a PG Wodehouse novel, but with a queer twist. I love his excessive characterisations in the Carry On films: the wide eyes and flared nostrils, the shrieks of indignation. The humour has dated, as all humour does, but I still find him compelling.
But it’s his appetite for mischief that always appealed to me the most. Williams loved deflating the pretentions of others, and he understood better than anyone that shock is a powerful and important comedic tool. At an Equity meeting in 1977 he ended his speech with the following: ‘Specialisation means that everyone becomes better and better at less and less and eventually someone will be superb at fuck-all.’
A quarter of a century after his death he still makes me laugh. To my mind, that’s a comedy hero. (Interview by Brian Donaldson)
8.30pm. £4 (£2). It’s a fight to the death between improv experts Garry Dobson, Stu Murphy and Billy Kirkwood. Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. The Stand’s spankingly good new talent night. With Joe Wells and host Jay Lafferty.
Tuesday 25
333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £5. Lecturers from the city’s universities turn their studies into entertaining stories. Edinburgh Best of Scottish Comedy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). A showcase of the finest comedy talent, with Jay Lafferty and James Smith.
Glasgow Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. Weekly beginners’ showcase. With Joe Wells. Edinburgh Bright Club: Edinburgh The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. The staff at Edinburgh’s universities share their tales about the, often very funny, world of research.
Wednesday 26 Glasgow Bright Club: Glasgow The Stand,
Thursday 27
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Susan Morrison brings along Joe Rooney, Stephen Carlin and Dogshit Johnson. Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). With Kevin Gildea, Keir McAllister, Ben Verth, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett and host Bruce Devlin.
COMEDY
Friday 28
Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 27 for line-up. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.45pm. £8 (£6). MC is the great Viv Gee with Susie McCabe headlining and support from Jamie MacDonald, Paul McDaniel and Wray Thomson. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. See Fri 21. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 27 for line-up.
Saturday 1
Glasgow Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10–11.45pm. £8 (£6). Scott Gibson headlines with support from Jamie MacDonald, Struan Logan and Gary Faulds. Viv Gee is your MC. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. See Fri 21. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 27 for line-up.
Sunday 2
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 3pm. £4. Live comedy for younger fans. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 23, with Stephen Carlin. Edinburgh The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 23.
Monday 3
Glasgow Improv Wars The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). See Mon 24. Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 24, but with Jay Lafferty.
Tuesday 4
Edinburgh The Broken Windows Policy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£2). The Stand’s monthly sketch show returns, including Larah Bross and Dave MacGregor.
Wednesday 5
Glasgow The Colour Ham The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £5 (£3). Sketch group comprising Colin McLeod, Gavin Oattes and Kevin McMahon. Edinburgh Andrew O’Neill: Heavy Metal – A History The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). Offbeat humour from the vegan and amateur occultist. Music is the topic tonight.
Thursday 6
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Scott Agnew 20 Feb–20 Mar 2014 THE LIST 49