Comedy
STAND-UP ALUN COCHRANE The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 14 Nov; The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 15 Nov
There are plenty of stand-ups out there who will give you one thing. That might be an entire show’s worth of punning one-liners or an aggressive misanthropic rant or a stream of toilet jokes. With Alun Cochrane, you’re guaranteed a set of life’s light and shade. In 2005, his aptly-titled Comedy With Sad Bits touched on the death of his father while his current touring show, Jokes. Life. And Jokes About Life, tackles the ill-health of both his mother and wife. For this Glasgow- born, Yorkshire-bred rising star, it’s all about giving more to an audience.
‘There’s a point where if you do enough stand-up you can speak
about things that are not particularly spoken about in stand-up,’ he says. ‘For me, the bit about how my family dealt with my dad’s death and my brother’s dad’s death didn’t last especially long, but I like the fact that they can still be talked about in the same show as IKEA and pizza toppings and a woman who got killed by a hippo. If you’re going to spend an hour with me, I’m aiming for it to be all funny, but some of it is going to be a different kind of funny. I see that as partly my comedian duty of being interesting company.’ Cochrane has been more than just interesting company ever since
his Edinburgh Fringe debut of 2004 with a show which he spent largely sat in a red leather chair (from which he is conducting our phone interview) with a Call My Bluff bell beside him which he would ‘ding’ upon saying a word he was especially fond of. Down the years, he’s garnered two five-star reviews from this magazine, but he might not be aware of it, given that he’s not a keen reader of his own notices. ‘One of the reasons I don’t read my press now is because I realised the same bits were coming up in reviews and suddenly I was performing them differently. I’d be thinking, “OK, here we go, I’m about to do my ‘peach-on-a-train’ routine that everyone’s been talking about”.’ Six years on and Cochrane has a three-year-old son, a fact that has given his career extra impetus. As well as a shedload of new material. ‘Even before I was a comic, some of my favourite bits were about other comedians talking about their kids, but I always work hard to make the stuff about my son and being a dad very purely mine. And there’s something quite nice about the fact that my jokes are buying him his little shoes. I find that quite a dignifying thing.’ (Brian Donaldson)
38 THE LIST 4–18 Nov 2010
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
Thursday 4
Glasgow FREE Bratchy and The Wee Man’s Comedy Pub Quiz The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 8pm. The monthly pub quiz with a comedy twist returns to question, entertain and hand out prizes. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm £8 (£7; members £4). Veterans Bob Mills and John Gillick tower over this weekend’s line-up, with performances from the rather exciting Naz Osmanoglu and Barry McDonald. With host Bruce Devlin. Edinburgh FREE Heresy The Jekyll & Hyde, 112 Hanover Street, 225 2022. 9pm. Another evening in the Heresy basement, where comedians get set to punch through the boundaries of decency. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Joe Heenan introduces two Scottish giants of comedy: Bruce Morton and Mark Bratchpiece. With Bethany Black and Alan Sharp.
Friday 5
Glasgow John Bishop SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. 8pm. £20. Stand-up from the chatty Liverpudlian. See 5 Things. Highlight Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. Three rather fabulous comedians tell tales to make you chuckle this weekend: Janey Godley, Mat Reed and Sandy Nelson. Jongleurs Tiger Tiger, Glassford Street, 08700 111 960. 8.30pm. £15. Straight-up stand-up from Raymond Mearns, John Ryan and the intriguing Daliso Chaponda. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 4. Craig Hill The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 10pm. £14.50 (£10.50). Terrifyingly cheerful comedy from Mr Hill for his adoring fans. Part of Glasgay!. Edinburgh Highlight Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 8.30pm. From £10. A riotous weekend of comedy courtesy of Jojo Sutherland, Danny Buckler and Steve Harris. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 4. The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 11b Bristo Place, 225 9893. 10.30pm. £4.50 (£4; members £3.50). Edinburgh University’s improvised comedy troupe has another experimental evening of entertainment.
Saturday 6 Glasgow Highlight Comedy Highlight, UGC Building, 11 Renfrew Street, 0844 844 0044. 8pm. From £12. See Fri 5. Comedy at the State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 8.15pm. £6 (£5). Glasgow’s long-standing basement of comedy sets up camp, with another cracking line-up headed by MC Chris Broomfield. Jongleurs Tiger Tiger, Glassford Street, 08700 111 960. 8.30pm. £15. See Fri 5. Scottish Comedian of the Year Semi-Final The Shed, 26 Langside Avenue, 649 5020. 8.15pm. £6. The next stage in the competition for those hoping to be crowned the best in show in Ha Ha
Comedy’s annual hunt for the Scottish Comedian of the Year. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 9pm. £13. See Thu 4. Edinburgh Highlight Comedy Highlight, Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 0844 844 0044. 8.30pm. From £10. See Fri 5. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £13. See Thu 4. Upstairs @ The Beehive Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 9pm. £5. Another line-up of Scottish talent, with headliner Bill Dewar, host Keara Murphy and performances from Obie, Daniel Webster and Chris Conroy.
Sunday 7
Glasgow Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 3pm. £4. A return of the comedy club aimed at younger comedy fans, featuring Bethany Black, Ro Campbell and Naz Osmanoglu. Best for ages 8–12; no under 5s and all kids must be accompanied by an adult. FREE Comedy at the Ivory Ivory Hotel, Langside Avenue, Shawlands, 636 0223. 8pm. Graham Mackie leads an evening of quality free comedy. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £5 (£4; members £1). The ever-chilled Redmond is joined by John Gillick, Gus Lymburn, Daniel Webster and Jason Arnstein.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch is it Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. Stu and Garry’s weekly improv show is getting more popular every week.
✽✽ Jason Cook: The End (Part 1) The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272.
8.30pm £9 (£7). Prepare thyselves comedy fans, as the most marvellous Mr Cook brings his brand of life-affirming comedy back to Scotland with his show The End (Part 1).
Monday 8
Glasgow ✽✽ Jason Cook: The End (Part 1) The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870
600 6055. 8.30pm. £9 (£7). See Sun 7.
Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). One of the finest open mic stand-up nights in the UK launches another collection of new hopefuls onto the circuit. With host Billy Kirkwood and a headline spot from improv lords Stu and Garry.
Tuesday 9
Glasgow FREE Comedy at the Halt Bar The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 352 9996. 8.30pm. Comedians at the start of their comedy career test out their latest gags. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0870 600 6055. 8.30pm. £2 (£1). Seasoned pros Stu and Garry and Jeff O’Boyle help out the newbies.
Edinburgh Luke McQueen and Christian Reilly The Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 60 Pleasance, 7.30pm. £5 (£4). Bouncy jokes and things from McQueen, followed by some decent musical comedy malarkey from Reilly.
✽✽ Sarah Millican The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. SOLD
OUT. The Millican phenomenon hits the road.
Wednesday 10
Glasgow ✽✽ Reginald D Hunter Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332
1846. 7.30pm. £17. The magnificent Reg D is back to rock your world.