Comedy
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to comedy@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Siân Bevan. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). MC Joe Heenan presents Sally Ann Hayward, Marcus Ryan and the wonderfully weird world of Seymour Mace.
Thursday 4 Friday 5
Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Sarah Millican from off of the telly headlines this weekend, with hosting duties fulfilled by Raymond Mearns. Graeme Thomas, Pete Jonas and Garry Dobson provide additional funnies.
5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT
Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm. £10–£13. Hypnotist act from Powers, who has been called ‘the Ali G of stage hypnosis’. Please note the Friday show is a ‘Family Fun Night’ and the midnight Saturday show is over 21s only. Famous for Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. An evening of pretty heavyweight comedy talent, from the giddiness of Craig Hill, to Alex Boardman and Andrew Murrell via the poetical land of Owen O’Neill. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 4 for line- up.
Edinburgh Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. Four chances to catch the very funny, multi-voiced Addy van der Borgh, with Quincy and Dougie Dunlop. Ticket price includes entry to Club-Risa after the show; there’s hot food available beforehand.
✽✽ Hardeep Singh Kohli: The Nearly Naked Chef Brunton
Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. 7.30pm. £14 (£12). Writer, cook, broadcaster and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli delivers a show that is part comedy, part cookery class, seasoned with a sprinkling of anecdotes from the Glaswegian’s colourful life. Laughing Horse New Act of the Year Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5. Three rounds of the first stage of this talent hunt, all building up to a grand finale in London and a prize worth £2500. All overseen by MC Keara Murphy. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 4 for line-up. The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 11b Bristo Place, 225 9893. 10.30pm. £4
DAVE GORMAN 1 Born in sunny Stafford in 1971, Dave Gorman dropped out of Manchester Uni while studying mathematics to get into stand-up.
2 He eventually became bored of the basic set-up/punchline joke form, so set himself projects to pursue and see if comedy could come out of those. These ‘concept’ shows included Better World where he wrote anonymous letters to 2000 local newspapers to request suggestions from readers on ways in which life could be improved and then tried them out. His breakthrough show was Are You Dave Gorman? which was inspired by a drunken bet with flatmate Danny Wallace (the Dundonian of Yes Man and How to Start Your Own Country fame) which resulted in the pair heading across the globe to track down 54 Dave Gormans (the figure was based on a pack of cards, plus jokers). The quest was recreated via a stage show, book and TV series.
3 Gorman did the voice-over for some Homebase ads. 4 A character in Neighbours was named Dave Gorman after some of the sun-soaked soap’s writers came to see him perform in Melbourne. Ramsay Street’s DG lasted all of two episodes, the highlight of which was being accused of stealing a bike.
5 His name is an anagram of ‘Nomad Grave’. If you’re being more formal with his forename, you could also have ‘Mr Odd Vagina’. Now, let’s see you do a documentary-style comedy stage show/book/TV spin-off about that. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 15 Feb.
44 THE LIST 4–18 Feb 2010
STAND-UP RUSSELL KANE Perth Theatre Café Bar, Mon 15 Feb; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 21 Feb; The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 22 Feb
Now we don’t want to suggest that high energy Essex-based comic Russell Kane might be accident prone, but there’s worrying evidence floating around to back up such a theory. In July of last year, just prior to Kane’s latest Fringe show, Human Dressage, he was reported as having collapsed with exhaustion, falling so hard that his head smashed a plate, in the process managing to lose some of his hair. Kane insists that he simply ‘stood up too quickly, had a head rush and missed my footing’. But last Christmas Day was something of a different matter when he leaned in to give a friend a festive kiss. ‘I didn’t notice that she was holding a little terrier and it jumped up and actually bit through my lip,’ Kane recalls with a small degree of anguish still in his voice. ‘Considering I’ve been doing some TV work and some of the acting I do requires precise labial control, I absolutely shat myself. I’ve kept photos of the injury because now it just looks like the tail end of a cold sore but it was horrific.’
By the time Kane embarks upon the Scottish leg of his current national tour, he will have been to Oz and back, doing a stint on the Christian O’Connell radio show, reporting on Andy Murray’s jaunt at the Australian Open and the Big Day Out music festival while also indulging in a bit of surfing and motor biking. Having taken the presenting duties on ITV2’s coverage of I’m a Celebrity . . . , it seems that there may be more than just a stand-up string to his creative bow.
‘A lot of comedians want to be the next big thing and I love every moment of it and if you told me I’d be doing all this in five years time, brilliant. However, if I could paint, you would not stop me trying to have an exhibition tomorrow. I’m just interested in seeing where the stand-up will lead; will it allow me to get that novel published with an editor who understands me? Will it allow me to get my plays big audiences and let me move into production and directing? I’m just curious about myself.’ Judging by the crowds who have flocked to see him perform his very personal, extremely erudite brand of stand-up, he’s clearly not the only one to be curious about Russell Kane. (Brian Donaldson)
(£3.50). Late night laughter from Edinburgh’s long-standing improvised comedy troupe. Saturday 6 Glasgow Peter Powers Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7.30pm & midnight. £10–£13. See Fri 5. Famous for Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. See Fri 5. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 4 for line-up. Edinburgh Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £11. See Fri 5. Laughing Horse New Act of the Year The Meadows Bar, 42–44 Buccleuch Street, 667 6907. 8.30pm. £5 (£3). See Fri 5. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 4 for line-up.
Sunday 7
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 3pm. £3. Live comedy for ages 8–12. Bruce Devlin, Raymond Mearns and Pete Jonas keep it clean as they entertain a younger than average audience. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult. FREE Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 8.30pm. An evening of free entertainment, with a different line-up each week. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). An evening where anything could happen under the surreal control of Michael Redmond. This week features Pete Jonas, Phil Differ, Rab Brown and Mark Davies. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1pm. Improvised lunchtime comedy from two of the best in Scotland, with hot food available to soothe those Sunday blues. Laughing Horse New Act of the Year The Meadows Bar, 42–44 Buccleuch Street, 667 6907. 8.30pm. £5 (£3). See Fri 5. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Stu Murphy takes a break from his improvisational superteam to host his Sunday show, which features charming Antipodean Marcus Ryan and the deadpan Martin McAllister.
Monday 8
Edinburgh The Joy of Politics Brunton Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. 7.30pm. £10.50 (£8.50; under 18s 6). The Black Sheep present a night of political comedy poking fun at ‘the Magna Carta to this morning’s headlines’. Fit O’ The Giggles Absolute Beginners Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2 (£1). A special charity night version of AB, raising funds for Rescue Corps. Comedians include Keir McAllister and Graham Mackie. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). New talent’s finest showcase continues to shine with a selection of hopefuls, headliner Antony Murray and host Billy Kirkwood.
Tuesday 9 Glasgow FREE Comedy at the Halt Bar The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 352 9996. 8.30pm. One of the newest gigs in Glasgow, this one charges you nada for the pleasure of watching a different line-up every week of some local up-and-comers. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1).