Comedy
Beatnik Comedy The Tron, 9 Hunter Square, High Street, 226 0931. 8.30pm. £3 (students £2). Comedy newbies plus professional headliner hosted by Liam Withnail. The Broken Windows Policy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £4 (£2). Skits and character treats featuring Larah Bross, Dave MacGregor and Ben Verth.
Thursday 3 Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £8 (£7; members £4). For your delight there’s all-out funny Bruce Morton, Katherine Ryan, Stuart Mitchell and Billy Kirkwood.
Edinburgh Gong Show The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £3. See Thu 26. We Happy Few Presents . . . The Banshee Labyrinth, 29–35 Niddry Street, 558 8209. 8.30pm. £2. Sketches and stand-up from a host of local legends. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £8 (£7; members £4). Mark Maier headlines, with Marcus Ryan, Caroline Mabey and host Joe Heenan.
Friday 4 Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 3 for line-up.
STAND-UP ALEX HORNE The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 22 May; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 23 May
With the world of comedy getting ever bigger and broader, the ambition of its exponents is rarely just confined to telling some jokes into a mic while perched on a small stage. Alex Horne has always been a comic who stepped out of the classic format with high-concept shows about Latin (When in Rome), ornithology (Birdwatching) or gambling (Odds), while he has also put a number of his stage ideas into print, bashed around jokes and jazz with the Horne Section and indulged in games-based mayhem with the likes of We Need Answers and Taskmaster. But of all those comedy-based shenanigans, which gives him most pleasure these days? ‘That’s like asking which of my kids I prefer,’ he says. ‘And I’m OK with that, it’s only natural to have a favourite. For me, it’s the Horne Section. It’s more fun than anything else I’ve ever done including swingball. I get to show off my talented friends (I hate praising them but they really are very good at making noises with their trumpets), I’m allowed to sing (I really can’t sing) and they let me tell three of my best jokes per show.’
In his current touring show, Seven Years in the Bathroom, Horne calculates just how much of our lives we spend on activities such as housework, bathing and eating. Given this show might be as far as you could possibly get from attending an hour with Jerry Sadowitz or Frankie Boyle, could this mean we’re living through the most diverse era yet for stand-up comedy? ‘People currently seem to like going to stand-up nights and don’t mind taking a punt on someone proposing a jazz-comedy hybrid or a show all about Latin. As for jokes running out, I’ve heard there are only a few hundred left. But they should keep us going for a generation or two and after that, well, it’s not really our problem, is it?’ (Brian Donaldson)
58 THE LIST 26 Apr–24 May 2012
Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. Street smarts from Slim, bizarre songs from Anthony King with Carl Hutchinson and Dave Williams. Edinburgh Friday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £8. See Fri 27. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £5. See Fri 27. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £12–£15. Featuring Andrew Stanley and his surreal observations, Kiwi comic Sully O’Sullivan, ‘the big man of comedy’ Patrick Rolink and Rick Right. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£9; members £5). See Thu 3 for line-up.
Saturday 5
Glasgow Comedy at EFC Festival Committee Room No.9, 18 John Street, 553 2490. 8pm. £5–£6. A bumper comedy line-up over two days which includes no less than 24 acts, so keep an eye out for the like of Graham Mackie, Malkie, Rick Molland, Jamie Andrew and John Purves. Part of EFC Festival. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 8.15pm. £7 (£5). See Sat 28. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 4. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 3 for line-up. Edinburgh Saturday Night Live The Shack, 119 Rose Street, 226 4311. 8pm. £10. See Fri 27. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £7. See Fri 27. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, Lava Ignite, 3 West Tollcross, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. See Fri 4. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 3 for line-up.
Sunday 6
Glasgow ✽✽ Jimeoin: Lovely! The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £14.50. Jimeoin is a comic with a delightful sense of the absurd. See My Comedy Hero, page 59. Comedy at EFC Festival Committee Room No.9, 18 John Street, 553 2490. 7pm. £5–£6. See Sat 5. Bank Holiday Special The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£9). Celebrate the Bank Holiday with Bruce Morton, Katherine Ryan, Stuart Mitchell and Michael Redmond. FREE Fresh Meat The Butterfly and the Pig, 153 Bath Street, 221 7711. 8.30pm. See Sun 29.
Edinburgh FREE Whose Lunch Is It Anyway? The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 29. Bank Holiday Special The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10 (£9). Another chance to catch the weekend’s picks; see Thu 3 for line-up.
5 THINGS
YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . SIMON AMSTELL 1 Amstell’s first major TV exposure was as the rather cocky team captain of the Essex All-Stars on Channel 4’s GamesMaster in 1993, the show that featured Patrick Moore’s head. Amstell was 13 at the time, had his cap on back to front, and wore massive Harry Potter-esque specs. 2 He made his movie debut last year in Black Pond, a low-budget indie tragi-comedy in which Amstell played a dodgy therapist who suspects a family may have committed murder.
3 In 2007, he co-wrote ‘Maxxie and Anwar’, an episode from the first series of Skins.
4 During a 2010 BBC Breakfast interview, he made mention of Russell Watson’s brain tumour which led to a storm of Daily Mail- infused outrage. This came straight after confessing that he might have been wrong in the past to have upset so many people . . . 5 . . . Such as Britney Spears who reputedly wept when he suggested on Popworld that she may have gone somewhat nuts. And how could we forget Preston who huffily stormed off Never Mind the Buzzcocks after a series of hilarious jibes aimed at his then-missus Chantelle Houghton? Bill Bailey saved the day by finding a Preston lookalike from the audience to take his place. Ed the welder did pretty well. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 17 May; Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 18 May.
Edinburgh Comedy Variety Show City Café, 19 Blair Street, 220 0125. 8–10.30pm. £3 (£2; £1 if booked in advance through lastminute.com). See Mon 30. The Beehive Comedy Club Newbees Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8pm. £2. See Mon 30. Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 30 Apr, but with the added delights of well-travelled comic Marcus Ryan and ‘Glasgow Mad Man’ Scott Gibson.
Monday 7 Tuesday 8
Glasgow ✽✽ Susan Calman: Revenge of the Cat Lady The Stand, 333
Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (9). Notorious cat lady Susan explains why she’s such a feline lover.
Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. See Tue 1. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See Tue 1, but with Marcus Ryan.