list.co.uk/comedy
Events are listed by date, then by city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication by using our ‘Add an Event’ service at list. co.uk Listings are compiled by Kirstyn Smith. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 13
Glasgow FREE John Aldiss’ Magnificent 7 The Griffin, 226 Bath Street, 331 5170. 8.30pm. Comedy / variety show mixes funny folks, music, spoken word, cabaret, magic and more. The only catch is that each act gets precisely seven minutes. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). With Karl Spain and Diane Spencer, hosted by Kevin Shepherd. Vespbar Virgins Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8.30pm. £3. Raw comedy talent from some of the best up- and-comers, hosted by Graham Barrie. Just Comedy Wild Cabaret & Wicked Lounge, 18 Candleriggs, 552 6165. 9–11pm. £5 (£10 with a sharing plate and drink). Weekly special guests and MC Janey Godley. Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). With David Fulton, Ria Lina and hosted by Bruce Devlin.
Friday 14
Glasgow Gilded Balloon Comedy at Drygate Drygate Brewing Co., 85 Drygate, 212 8810. 7.30–9.30pm & 10pm–midnight. £15 for show only; £30 for show and two-course meal; £33 for show and three-course meal. This Friday, Ray Bradshaw hosts Marcel Lucont, Vladimir McTavish and Gareth Waugh. Laughter Eight Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8pm. £8. Early stand- up show from a handful of comedians, hosted by the formidable Viv Gee. Dead Sheep Comedy Eastwood Park Theatre, Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock, 577 4956. 8.30– 10.30pm. £13 (£11; students £9). Comedy club operated by working comedians offering a relaxed atmosphere and a bang-on line-up each time. 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. With Patrick Rolink and Rudi Lickwood. Edinburgh Eric and Little Ern The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. 7.30pm. £17 (£15). Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel transform themselves into comedy legends Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise for an evening of old-school sunshine-bringing entertainment. See preview, page 56. The Line Up 48 Below, 48 Broughton Street, 48below.com 8pm. £4–£5. Comedy plus cocktails, with a great line- up each time. 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 to tickle your funny bone in an entirely appropriate way. Men With Coconuts The Granary, 32–34 The Shore, Leith, 554 9465. 8.30–10pm. £6 (£5). Improv comedy from Men With Coconuts, aka Fringe faves Impro FX. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 13 for line-up.
REVIEW RADIO ROUND-UP The ‘Radio 4 comedy voice’ has been mercilessly mimicked and mocked by both Simon Munnery and Stewart Lee, and it’s cranked up to 11 in a variety of shows currently on the station. They would routinely hate Hal (Radio 4, Sun 16 Nov, 7.15pm ●●●●●), the sitcom from Hal Cruttenden in which he plays, yep, Hal, a stay-at-home dad to two small ones who are getting bigger and needing him less and less, while his wife (Anna Crilly) is an international go-getter. Ed Byrne and Gavin Webster also crop up. The Elephant Man (Radio 4 Extra, Thu 20 Nov, 7am ●●●●●) is the series
from 1996 in which Peter Serafinowicz plays a hapless zookeeper at an establishment which is lurching towards bankruptcy. Less surreal than the zoo-set work from around the same time by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, an ‘ilarious misunderstanding about some poisoned food sets the tone here.
Food, more specifically fruit, has been on the mind of Kettering’s
finest in James Acaster’s Findings (Radio 4, Wed 19 Nov, 11pm ●●●●●) as the Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee (pictured) delivers the curious results of his scatterbrained research on various topics (musings on wood, wheels and paint complete the series).
The pick of the bunch, though, is Start / Stop (Radio 4, Mon 17 Nov, 11.30am ●●●●●), Jack Absolutely Docherty’s fourth-wall breaking sitcom (yes, you can do that on the radio, apparently) about three very different marriages in various states of disrepair. A glittering cast (including John Thomson, Fiona Allen, Kerry Godliman and Charlie Higson) bring it all to silly, silly life. (Brian Donaldson)
Saturday 15
Glasgow Laughter Eight Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8pm. £8. See Fri 14. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 14. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 13 for line-up. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. See Fri 14. FREE Causewayside Splitters The Old Bell, 233 Causewayside, 668 1573. 8.30–10pm. Up and coming local and national talent. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 13 for line-up.
Sunday 16
Glasgow ✽ Miranda Sings City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7pm. £32 (£22). The YouTube sensation (aren’t they all these days, eh?) delivers another memorably bad set of vocal gymnastics
with her creator-carer, Colleen Ballinger, in attendance. See preview, page 54. 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 FREE Stu and Garry’s Free Improv Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. Stu Murphy and Garry Dobson with a slice of improv action. Footlights Comedy Edinburgh Footlights, 7 Spittal Street, 229 6466. 7–9.30pm. £4 (£3). New and experienced comedians for a Sunday night. Vikki Stone: Instrumental The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £12 (£10). Vikki Stone’s musical comedy featuring 20 instruments. See My Comedy Hero, page 57.
Monday 17
Glasgow ✽ The Colour Ham The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879.
8.30pm. £5 (£3). Magical comedy sketch group do their funny, conjuring thing.
COMEDY
5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . JOHN BISHOP 1 Born on a Liverpool council estate, John Bishop only got into comedy during his mid-30s while working in middle management at a pharmaceuticals company and going through divorce proceedings. He has subsequently admitted that his comedy career saved both his sanity and marriage. 2 Not only does Bishop perform a certain kind of ‘blokey observational’ comedy, he clearly likes going to see it as well. In the just-released DVD of Jason Manford’s First World Problems, filmed at Liverpool Empire, the camera alights on Bishop chortling away like a loon. 3 He might be an arena-filling comedian these days, but he clearly also fancies himself as a bit of an actor. In Ken Loach’s Route Irish, a Scouse squaddie Fergus (Mark Womack) copes (or not) with life after his tour of duty in the Middle East. The Bish got a fairly chunky role as a guy whose mysterious death in Baghdad still haunts Fergus. Sounds impressive, eh? Then again, Jim Davidson played a zookeeper’s assistant in Peter Greenaway’s A Zed and Two Noughts. 4 He has been tipped to appear in a new ITV reality show, worryingly entitled Bear Grylls: Celebrity Survivor. Should Bishop accept the challenge, he’ll be trekking through some of the world’s most terrifying jungly terrain for ten days early next year. Almost as scary as him making heat mag’s top ten ‘Weird Crushes’ of 2014. 5 If you’re not a fan of him, strap yourself in: he wants to be doing stand-up when he’s 90. (Brian Donaldson) ■ The Hydro, Glasgow, Wed 26 & Thu 27 Nov.
Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. The Stand’s spankingly good new talent night. Tuesday 18
Glasgow Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 17, Edinburgh.
13 Nov–11 Dec 2014 THE LIST 55