Funny old game
Celebrating ten years of success, the Stand’s founder reflects on how he went from building a stage with chipboard and a pallet to running the top comedy venue in Scotland where the red raw and the white hot make us laugh.
restaurant. I‘d always wanted to run a
restaurant. The Stand Comedy Club was borne
of necessity. My partner Jane Mackay started stand-up comedy in l994 and. attending one-off gigs throughout the capital. we soon came to know the small and disparate band of people who comprised the Scottish scene then. All bemoaned the lack of a regular club and it was indeed weird that a city with the biggest arts festival in the world didn‘t have a stand-up venue.
Jane and I had been fans of contemporary stand-up — what they used to call alternative comedy — in its early years when we lived in London and I’d gained a bit of knowledge on the board of the Hackney Iimpire. A pair of active lefties since university. we‘d been round the public relations block a few times. and knew a thing or two about organising public events.
We felt as well—equipped as anyone to have a go.
Ten years ago. live stand-up comedy had become a strong and viable entertainment form in London. and clubs were beginning to spread throughout the UK. The first wave of performers we‘d watched in tiny lounge rooms above street corner pubs were now set to become the mainstay of television light entertaimnent. In their wake were coming hundreds more with an increasingly diverse range of styles. Any would-be comic in Scotland had no choice but to go to London to get on. So. we set out to give them a choice.
Our daughter Iiva suggested the venue. WJ Christie‘s pub off the Grassmarket had been a popular haunt of her fellow art students. and she told us of their downstairs room. It had 27 seats but was a space with controlled access. its own bar and toilets and I knew from my days of organising political meetings that it was always better to have a small room full than a larger one half empty. We made a stage out of a piece of chipboard nailed onto some pallets. and bought a second-hand PA from Chris Cooper who is still our resident technician.
The first night was Thursday l4 September. 1995. Seven people came and we took £22 on the door. We set out as we meant to go on. taking everyone‘s name and address and offering them a free ticket to the next
show if they brought a paying friend. It was a test of
faith that the show should start when advertised. rather than wait to see if more of an audience would arrive later. We always paid performers a guaranteed fee. rather than a door split. Often it was only a tenner. but the fact that everyone got paid whether we had the money to cover fees was appreciated. Gradually we built up a mailing list and I remember thinking we were making progress when we collected our l()()th punter: now we email l2.l)()() people every week.
10 THE LIST 8—9? Sep 2005')
CURRENCY WAS LAUGHTER AND THE MORE WE CREATED THE BETTER THE COMPANY DID'
Throughout the winter of I995 we worked hard at our
hobby. with the patience and dedication that only enthttsiasts have. By Iiaster we found a second venue and opened on Saturday nights. allowing us to bring in a range of other comedians to prevent our small but growing audience becoming jaded. By 1997 the Stand was running three gigs at week in Edinburgh with more than l()() people coming every week. Later that year. we found an insurance companst disused archive store in the basement of 5 York Place and. armed with a business plan. we set off to raise the funds to turn it into a purpose-built comedy club. Iiour banks turned us down before Allied Irish finally came up with the loans. fired MacAulay did the opening night and we had a queue round the block. I remember thinking what a great business it was: our currency was laughter and the more we created the better the company did. Ten years on and we're still paying the bills. Between them the Glasgow and Iidinburgh clubs entertain around 7().()()() people a year and we
comics who can now live and work in Scotland. rather than become
the years. Most still do. Some. like Johnny Vegas (who had his first paid gig in Scotland with us). Bill Bailey and Harry Hill. have gone on to great things and we've gained the respect of many in this business; it‘s a source of pride that people like Daniel Kitson. Boothby Graffoe and Simon Munnery (pictured below) choose us as their preferred Fringe venue when they could fill bigger rooms.
We‘ve strengthened the company by bringing in new people at board level and we constantly fight against complacency. I‘ve no idea where we‘ll be in ten years. but this is the best job I've ever done and I ain‘t giving it upjust yet.
www.thestand.co.uk
have built up a dynamic team of
artistic migrants. Hundreds of comics have played the Stand over
PLUCKING FRUIIS FROM THE CULTURAL BUSH
. .l
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