NEW TALENT DES BISHOP
The Stand, Glasgow, Fri 18 & Sat 19 Oct
Reluctant poster boy
You could say 2002 was the year of the shrinking violet. Daniel Kitson humbly accepted the Perrier award, Johnny Vegas sold his wedding photos to Viz for a quid and Des Bishop won the Tap Water award and not an eyelid was seen to flutter. Whatever happened to triumphant celebrations?
‘I decidedly played the whole thing down,’ explains Des Bishop. ‘1 was all for what they were doing but I didn’t want to be the poster boy for it because I’m new and I didn’t want to be seen as some little upstart.’
Not a chance. Des Bishop isn’t really into self-promotion. A New Yorker by birth yet Irish by nature, just as the Dublin resident didn’t want to rock any boats when awarded the Tap Water - the ‘alternative’ Perrier - he’s equally modest about his ‘physical charisma’ (read aesthetically-pleasing appearance); he shies away from questioning stating the attention is flattering, but not
important.
In addition, his life story to date reads like a Kilroy wet dream. At 14 he was kicked out of school in America and sent to a boarding school in Ireland (which was rife with sexual abuse). He got into comedy while studying drama at university, starred in a popular satirical show on Irish television, wrote an acclaimed hip hop musical, was diagnosed with testicular cancer and then stormed the Fringe this year with Comical Warfare. Phew. And he’s only 26.
Comical Warfare was Bishop’s first solo show and, like many other festival shows, was based on 11 September. ‘I did the Kilkenny Festival and everybody was doing material about 11 September,’ says Bishop, ‘and I didn’t want to be another guy at the festival doing a show about 11 September, so I pulled back. But when I got to Edinburgh and I saw the stuff other people were doing, it was just ha-ha, funny jokes, whereas my own stuff is deeply embedded in my opinions on America and what it’s like to be an American living in Europe.’
Now that Bishop’s comedy has a more international flavour, he’s ready to take on his home country. One trip to America earlier this year for an Irish festival paved the way for a return busman’s holiday next February. ‘Last time I went I held back, New York wasn't ready for what I had to say. Now I’m going back to tell them what I really feel. The wounds have healed and if they haven’t then they need to get a Band-Aid. I’m going to hit ’em hard.’ (Maureen Ellis)
Gigs are listed by date, and then by city. Details will be listed provided information reaches our offices at least eight days before publication. Comedy listings compiled by Maureen Ellis.
Glasgow
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. l.’G(‘ Building. Renfrew Street. 0870 787 0707. 7.30pm. £6. Pierre Hollins. Glen Wool. Kevin Gildea and Mark Hurst. The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 08706006055. 9pm. £5 (£4). Australian maniacal rnirthster Markus Birdman joins Steven Dick. Jamie McKenzie and host Frankie Boyle.
Edinburgh
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £5 (£4). Musical satirist Sandy Nelson. plus Keara Murphy. Graeme Thomas and host David Kay.
Snatch Club The Liquid Room. 9c Victoria Street. 225 2564. l()pm—3am. £3.50 (£2.50). Resident compere and DJ Harry Ainsworth hosts this Carry On- meeh-Hi-De-Hi debauched cabaret.
Glenrothes Ed Byrne Rothes Halls. Rothes Square. 01592 611101. 8pm. £14.50
: Reg Anderson’s Comedy Cellar
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place.
I 558 7272. 9pm. £7. Northern Irish
meteorite Jake O‘Kane illuminates a vast comic landscape. Suppon comes from
Glasgow
Fin MacCool‘s. I61 Lothian Road. 622 7109. 9pm. £3. Raymond Meams. Bene Linchesticov and John McBride.
Aussie firestarter Markus Birdman. magic Steven Dick and compere Susan Morrison.
Saturday 1 9
Cralc 0 the Sac Cul de Sac Southside/Attic. l 179 Pollokshaws Road.
. 649 1819/649 4717. 7.30pm. £6. See Fri
18.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs.
UGC Building. Renfrew Street. 0870 787 0707. 7.30pm. £12. See Thu 17.
0 Al Murray Pavilion Theatre. 121 Renfield Street. 332 1846. 8pm. £16.50. Join pub landlord Murray on his mission to put the ‘Great‘ back into Great Britain in Who Dares Wines? See preview.
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £8. See Fri 18 only with compere Susan Morrison. Madcap Comedy Club State Bar. 148
Holland Street. 883 2334. 9.30pm. £5 (£4).
Billy Bonkers introduces a selection of acts from the local circuit.
Edinburgh
The Stand The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £8. See Fri 18 but with compere Jane Mackay.
Dundee Ed Byrne Dundee Rep. Tay Square.
01382 223530. 10.45pm. £13.50 (£1 1). See
Thu 17.
M 5 ~
Glasgow
The Comedy Coop O‘Neill‘s. 31 Bell Street. 8.30pm. £4 (£3). David Keay. John Scott. Keara Murphy and compere Jamie MacKenzie.
Michael Redmond’s Sunday Servlce The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). The zany talents of Markus Birdman. plus Jamie McKenzie and Velvet Virgins. Cralc @ the Sac Cul de Sac Southside/Attic. l 179 Pollokshaws Road. 649 1819/649 4717. 8.30pm. £4. See Fri 18.
Edinburgh
(£11.50—£l2.50). The Strathclyde university alumni returns with more jokes about his girlfriend and his goldfish.
Friday 18
Glasgow
Cralc O the Sac Cul de Sac Southside/Attic. 1 179 Pollokshaws Road. 649 1819/649 4717. 7.30pm. £6. Joe Heenan. with Charlie Ross. John Ross and compere Alan Anderson.
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs. L'GC Building. Renfrew Street. 0870 787 0707. 7.30pm. £12. See Thu 17.
The Stand The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. ()870 600 6055. 9pm. £7. New Yorker Des Bishop headlines. with Mark Bratchpiece. Keara Murphy and compere Jane Mackay. See preview for Des Bishop. Watson’s Wind-up Glasgow Film Theatre. 12 Rose Street. 332 8128.
l—l .45pm. Free. Live recordings of the topical news radio show with Only an I;'.t'r'iisr star Jonathan Watson and guests.
Edinburgh
0 I’MPerfect Traverse Theatre. Cambridge Street. 228 1404. 9pm. £10 (£4—£6). Francesca Martinez‘s first solo
. show challenges expectations. Support act
Karl Theobold takes you on a surreal Journey to the old wild west in Doctor Tinnamen‘s Medicine Circus.
Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 1pm. Free. Freestyle funniness from resident duo Paul Graham and Stuart Murphy.
Sunday Safari The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). Allan Miller introduces Mark Bratchpiece. Graeme Thomas and three guests.
Yo Ho Ho Sushi Yo! Below. 66 Rose Street. 220 6040. 9pm. £3. Vladimir McTavish. Bene Linchesticov. Reg Anderson and compere David Wilkie.
Dunfermline
Ed Byrne Carnegie Hall. East Port.
01383 314000. 7.30pm. £14.50 (HO—£12). See Thu 17.
Glasgow OJerry Sadowltz Queen Margaret Union. 22 University Gardens. 339 9784.
7.30pm. £12.50. Sadowitz squares up to the f people with his most outrageous material
ever. Take cover.
BBC Scotland’s lee Floor Show The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. Free. BBC Scotland's hit comedy show goes live again with these workshops. Join Frankie Boyle. Craig Hill. Reverend Obadiah. Bob Doolally and Rupert Donaldson for the laughs that probably won't make it past the censors.
Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand. 5 York Place. 558
listings Comedy
E Francesca Martinez Her Fringe show, l’MPerfect. was the antidote to seemingly politically correct gobbledegook. See the Open Mic winner rage against the PC machine before television snaps her up. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 78 Oct.
a Al Murray The Pub Landlord returns in all his groggy glory to hold forth on the things that make Britain great. See preview. Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 79 Oct.
tit Jerry Sadowitz Gigs that warrant the term ‘unmissable‘ don't come around too often, but Jerry Sadowitz playing a student gig must be up there with the best of 'em. Better still, Sadowitz is resolutely on the offensive. Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, Mon 27 Oct.
iii: Howard Read Read charmed the pants off us with Fringe debut Words and Pictures and now the stand-up illustrator goes back to basics. The Pleasance Cabaret Bar, Edinburgh, Tue 22 Oct.
Ross Noble The hardest working comedian in Britain keeps his superpowered brain from over— heating by blasting us with Iashings of his Sonic Waffle. See preview. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 28 8 Tue 29 Oct.
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7272. 8.30pm. £1. Host Martin Furby and ‘Tango‘ man Ricky Callan join
Reg Anderson’s Big Fun Quiz Night The Meadows Bar. 42--44 Buccleuch Street. 667 6907. 9pm. Free. An offbeat comedy quiz.
Glasgow
Benefit In Aid of the Green Party The Stand. 333 Woodlands Road. 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £6 (£4). Charity hilarity in aid of the environment.
Edinburgh
Ol-loward Read and Stan Stanley The Pleasance Cabaret Bar. 60 The Pleasance. 650 2349. 8pm. £4—£6. Sometime illustrator and stand-up Read indulges in more comic silliness. Deadpan newcomer Stanley supports. Bob Doolally’s Football Flashbacks The Stand. 5 York Place. 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£6). A life in football relived by the washed-up footie manager. Hairy Watt Comedy Club Heriot- Watt University L'nion. Riccarton. 451 5333. 9pm. £3. Beat 106 presenter Des Clarke. Kirst Moss. Colin Simpson and MC Raymond Mearns. Students and guests only.
Reg Anderson’s Big Fun Quiz Night Fin .‘vlacCool's. 161 Lothian Road. 622 710‘). 9pm. Free. See Mon 21.
17—31 Oct 2002 THE LIST 71
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