POETRY / MUSIC / COMEDY HARRY & CHRIS The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 10 Dec; The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 18 Dec
Though Harry Baker and Chris Read have been tickling Fringe audiences for the last two years with their jazz / performance poetry / comedy combo, their initial meeting was an inauspicious one. ‘We went to school together,’ Baker recalls. ‘I think Chris truly began to respect me when I came to do a paper round at the same newsagent as him and was so punctual they gave me extra work instead of him despite him having been there longer. He was the cool guy in a band in the year above.’ After collaborating on each other’s projects for a while they went their separate ways but got back together again once they’d completed their degrees. This second show has the pair embracing the comedy further after audiences for the first one seemed to particularly enjoy that element. ‘This way we get to be surprisingly poignant and tuneful for a comedy act rather than surprisingly funny for a poetry show,’ laughs Baker.
So given the long-lasting nature of their relationship and the fact that they have both got / are
getting married this year, do they have any advice to pass on? ‘I reckon Chris’ top tip would be once you’re married and have had a honeymoon to immediately go on tour around the country with your (other) best friend. My tip would be to wait until after the tour to get married: we’ll let you know how both of those work out.’ (Marissa Burgess)
MY COMEDY HERO JOSIE LONG Lefty Scum is at The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 7 Nov; The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 18 Feb
Eugene Mirman is to my mind the most inventive comedian in the world. I first heard of him through a friend in about 2005. He played me phone pranks Eugene had done to take the piss out of homophobic American conservatives. They managed to remain warm and good-natured without losing a political point. Above all they were so silly that we were in hysterics. I saw his Edinburgh show the same year and he gave out different coupons to the crowd. I still have mine which says ‘this coupon is for a hug when you’re feeling blue’. I was lucky enough to support him on tour last year and one set would go from political Facebook
surveys he’d placed and collected during the election to a fake tourist calendar he’d painted of the seaside town where he lives, and that he drops into shops unasked for. His stand-up is never not delightful, smart and surprising at once, and I always find myself giggling like an idiot.
On top of all of this, Eugene is a really generous performer and person. He cares about the comedy community and really loves comedy, but will also do a ridiculous Theremin solo for 20 minutes onstage, so what’s not to love? (As emailed to Brian Donaldson) ■ Lefty Scum comprises Josie Long, Jonny & the Baptists and Grace Petrie. See more of this column at list.co.uk/comedy
COMEDY | Previews
LOCAL LAUGHS RICHARD BROWN
RISING GLASGOW-BASED COMEDIAN RICHARD BROWN HAS A GO AT OUR Q&A
Can you tell us about the moment when you thought: ‘stand-up is for me’? There wasn't a specific moment, I’ve just always loved stand-up and in 2011 I did my first open spot. That said, every September after the Fringe, I have to go back to a real-world job, and put the filter back up between my brain and my mouth to stop myself making the type of jokes I’ve just spent a month making in pubs with other comics. I’m reminded that the world of stand-up, inhabited as it is by narcissists, drunks and damaged people, is where I want to be. Where do you draw the line when it comes to ‘offensive comedy’? When it’s shit. If you put thought into what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, you can talk about most subjects. Comics that say audiences are too politically correct are usually just too shit.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another comedian so far? When I first started, an Australian comic called Geoff Gawler told me, ‘stop being so self-deprecating. If you tell the audience “we’re on a big pink fluffy cloud” the audience will believe we’re on a big pink fluffy cloud. If you tell the audience you’re a shit comedian the audience will believe you’re a shit comedian.’ That made a big difference. Which comedian’s memoir would you recommend? None. It takes so much ego and narcissism for a person to stand on a stage, so having that person talk exclusively about themselves for 300 pages would be fucking tedious!
■ The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 23–Sat 25 Nov; Yesbar, Glasgow, Fri 22 & Sat 23 Dec. See more of this Q&A at list.co.uk/comedy
80 THE LIST 1 Nov 2017–31 Jan 2018