Comedy

5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT

PAUL MERTON 1 Paul Martin (as he was named in July 1957) was inspired to get into live comedy after seeing Alexei Sayle perform in 1981. The tight-suited scouser’s ‘stream of tastelessness’ led Merton to take to the stage with his ‘policeman on acid’ sketch. He had to change his name due to Equity rules as there was a juggler in Leeds called Paul Martin. 2 Merton carries painful memories of early Edinburgh Fringe shows. In 1986 he was helping put up a friend’s poster in the street when he was assaulted. The following year he wound up in a hospital bed after breaking his leg during a comics’ football game, eventually contracting hepatitis A.

3 He admits that sometimes he and his Impro Chums simply can’t read out an audience suggestion on the grounds of taste and decency. For example in 2005, just a few weeks after the terror attacks in London, he was unable to read out: ‘travel on the Underground with a rucksack stuffed with explosives’.

4 He married fellow improviser Suki Webster last year. Apparently the happy couple danced to ‘All You Need is Love’ played by a Mexican three-piece band. 5 While Have I Got News for You continues apace, not everyone is smitten. Occasional panellist Will Self called on Ian Hislop and Merton to quit believing that ‘plump, middle- aged multimillionaires sitting behind a desk making jokes about Clive Anderson’s hair style’ is not satirical enough. Merton responded that Self may be feeling aggrieved because a joke he made about fisting was cut out of his last appearance on the show. (Brian Donaldson) Perth Concert Hall, Mon 3 May.

The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). Se Thu 6 for line-up. Edinburgh Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 8.30pm. From £10. Pete Johansson with Alex Boardman, Aaron Counter, and Karl Spain. Hot food’s there if you need it. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 6 for line-up.

Saturday 8

Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 6 for line-up. 56 THE LIST 29 Apr–13 May 2010

Hitlist THE BEST COMEDY *

Abracadabra: German Humour Goes Global Henning Wehn and Otto Kuhnle are trying to convince us that the Germans are actually a funny bunch. And while we can’t speak for the rest of them, these two certainly go some way in scotching that national stereotype with some cutting contemporary humour (Wehn) and a slab of Berliner Kabarett (Kuhnle). The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 10 May; The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 11 May.

Edinburgh Famous for Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 6.30pm & 10pm. From £10. See Fri 7. Fit O’ The Giggles Upstairs Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 9pm. £5. See Sat 1. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 6 for line-up.

Sunday 9

Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 3pm. £4. Susan Calman joins some other brave comedians in entertaining the toughest crowd on earth. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult. FREE Ha Ha Raw Comedy Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 8.30pm. See Sun 2. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Your regular Sunday uncle, Michael Redmond, presents his weekly showcase of Sundayness. With Patrick Rolink, Mark Davies, Alan Sharp and Susan Morrison. Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1pm. See Sun 2. The Sunday Night Laugh-In The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). Headliner Joe Heenan with host Scott Agnew and support from acts such as Ed Patrick, Rob Kane and Keara Murphy.

Monday 10

Glasgow Abracadabra: German Humour Goes Global The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £9 (£7). Henning Wehn and Otto Kuhnle do German humour justice. See picture, above. Edinburgh Melting Pot The Stand, 5 York Place,

558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). The monthly sketch show which showcases local writing talent, with a chance to pick your favourite from the bunch. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). New acts and new jokes crammed into one bargainous night.

Tuesday 11

Glasgow FREE Comedy at the Halt Bar The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 352 9996. 8pm. See Tue 4. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). Headliner Nick Helm and host Billy ‘Da Fizz’ Kirkwood prop up the new talent at this super showcase. Edinburgh Abracadabra: German Humour Goes Global The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £9 (£7). See Mon 10.

Wednesday 12

Glasgow ✽✽ How Do I Get Up There? The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870

600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4). Sketch comedy from this Scottish troupe (Chris Forbes, Kevin Mains and James Kirk).

Edinburgh Fit O’ The Giggles Out with The Old Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £3 (£2). See Wed 5.

Thursday 13

Glasgow Gilded Balloon Comedy Circuit Oran Mor, 731—735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 7.30pm. £14 (£12). Today’s line-up includes Chris Martin, Jimmy McGhie and a special guest. Slumdog Stand Up Slumdog Bar & Kitchen, 410 Sauchiehall Street, 7.30pm. £19.95 (inc meal). See Thu 29. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Susan

✽✽ Paul Sinha The only Liverpool FC-supporting gay Bengali GP in the comedy village prescribes us a weekend of wickedly intelligent fun. The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 29 Apr–Sun 2 May. ✽✽ Teddy The recent winner of the Best Up and Coming Comedian at the Scottish Variety Awards delivers some of his caustic charm. See preview. The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 30 Apr. ✽✽ Paul Merton’s Impro Chums Does it look like he just makes it up as he goes along? That’s impro, folks. See 5 Things. Perth Concert Hall, Mon 3 May. ✽✽ Katy Brand Having wooed the legions on ITV2, Ms Brand (seen recently in the second Nanny McPhee movie) brings her Big Ass of characters to our shores. See First Word, page 2. Perth Theatre, Tue 4 May; Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 5 May. ✽✽ How Do I Get Up There? More sketchy shenanigans from this rising Scottish trio. The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 12 May.

Calman, off of the radio and that, hosts this weekend’s rather chirpy line-up of Martin Mor, Michael Adams, Patrick Rolink and David Longley.

Edinburgh Ghillie Gags Ghillie Dhu, 2 Rutland Place, 222 9930. 8.30pm. £15 inc dinner. See Thu 29. FREE Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde, 112 Hanover Street, 225 2022. 9pm. See Thu 29. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). It’s the middle of the month, which as good a reason as any to check out the comedy musings of Viz co-founder Simon Donald. He’s on with Junior Simpson, Henry Ginsberg, Woody and host Susan Morrison. Perth Fred MacAulay Perth Theatre, 185 High Street, 0845 612 6324. 8pm. £14.50. The Scottish comedy legend and Grand High Lord of Radio Scotland is here, live and doing that stand-up thing that got him where he is.