COMEDY Friday 20

Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 19 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. With Chris Conroy, Garr Murran, Janey Godley and Stu Who?. The 10 O’Clock Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £10. See Fri 13, but with John Hastings, Edward Whitley and Thomas Black. Edinburgh The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 19 for line-up, but without Frankie Boyle.

Saturday 21

Glasgow Ken Dodd Pavilion Theatre, 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. 7pm. £21 (£19). Stand-up and songs from Dodd. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 20. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9–11.45pm. £9 (£6). See Sat 14, but with Scott Agnew, Liam Withnail and MC Chris Broomfield. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 19 for line-up. The 10 O’Clock Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £10. See Fri 13, but with John Hastings, Edward Whitley and Michael Hollingworth. Edinburgh The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Fri 20 for line-up.

Sunday 22

Glasgow Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). Redmond hosts Silky, Stephen Halkett, Ruth Cockburn and John McGoldrick.

Edinburgh Footlights Comedy Edinburgh Footlights, 7 Spittal Street, 229 6466. 7.30–10pm. £3. See Sun 15.

Robin Ince: In and Out of His Mind The Stand, 5 York Place, 558

7272. 8.30pm. £12 (£10). See preview, page 52.

Monday 23

Glasgow Robin Ince: In and Out of His Mind The Stand, 333 Woodlands

Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10). See Sun 22. See preview, page 52. Steampunk Comedy Steampunk Café, 1 Drury Street, 204 2929. 8.30–11pm. £2.50. See Mon 16.

Tuesday 24

Edinburgh Bright Club: Edinburgh The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5. University staff share their tales about the world of research.

Wednesday 25 Glasgow Universal Comedy Showcase CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 1pm. £5.50 (£4.50). People coping with ill health and mental health challenges get up on stage to give us the giggles.

Edinburgh Best of Scottish Comedy The 54 THE LIST 12 Jun–10 Jul 2014

Glasgow Gong Show The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9–11.45pm. £5. See if you can go five minutes without being red-carded by the audience. Hosted by Graham Mackie. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 26 for line-up. The 10 O’Clock Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £10. See Fri 13, but with Ron Vaudry, Bob Graham, Chris Thorburn and David McKenna. Edinburgh The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 26 for line-up.

Sunday 29

Glasgow Zombie Science: Brain of the Dead The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £6 (£5). See preview, page 53. Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 15, but with Jeff Innocent, Benny Boot and Rob Kane.

Edinburgh Footlights Comedy Edinburgh Footlights, 7 Spittal Street, 229 6466. 7.30–10pm. £3. See Sun 15.

Al Murray: One Man, One Guvnor The Stand, 5 York Place,

558 7272. 8.30pm. £15. A work-in- progress show from everyone’s favourite bigoted landlord, Al Murray.

Monday 30

Glasgow Al Murray: One Man, One Guvnor The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £15. See above. Steampunk Comedy Steampunk Café, 1 Drury Street, 204 2929. 8.30–11pm. £2.50. See Mon 16.

Wednesday 2

Glasgow Comedian Rap Battles The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£4). Unmissable combination of rap fantasies and egos. Edinburgh The Broken Windows Policy The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £5 (£4). New skits and character treats.

Thursday 3

Glasgow The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Vlad McTavish guides Mick Ferry, Frankie Boyle, Katie Mulgrew and Eddie Cassidy through the weekend. Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Scott Agnew, with Rudi Lickwood, JoJo Smith and Phil Differ.

Friday 4

Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 3 for line-up, but no Frankie Boyle and Andrew Learmonth replaces Eddie Cassidy. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. With Dougie Dunlop and Johnny Candon. The 10 O’Clock Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £10. See Fri 13, but with Rob Kane, Harriet Dyer and Stephen Buchanan.

MY COMEDY HERO RAYMOND MEARNS Jongleurs, Glasgow, Fri 13 & Sat 14 Jun; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 18–Sat 21 Jun

Most people would presume that my major influence in comedy would be Billy Connolly given the Scottish angle and my similarity of style. And it’s true! Billy is the principal influence in my professional life. However, I have chosen Richard Pryor as my comedy hero because of the way he opened himself up to his audience. Pryor pioneered the confessional style of comedy, and in my eyes he invented comedy as therapy and turned observation inward. The sheer bravery that he exuded was awesome, as he opened himself up to a level of ridicule that most of us would find impossible to bear. We spend our lives trying to eliminate our defects of character and in the process lose ourselves as we become a faceless drone in the over-consuming, misdirected homogeneous mass that is mankind instead of just accepting ourselves and getting on with living full and purposeful lives.

Richard Pryor accepted himself, laughed at himself and, in so doing, he gave people permission to laugh at themselves. Taking ourselves too seriously is the reason for all the troubles in the world; we are all stressed out and paranoid about not coming up to scratch. The way we look, the way we dress: everything is designed to keep us spending money we don’t have on stuff we don’t need to impress people we don’t even like. And Richard Pryor knew this: he is the cure for all the world’s known ills! 

Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £3). Stephen Carlin, Chris Forbes and host Ray Bradshaw.

Thursday 26

Glasgow Universal Comedy Showcase CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 2.30pm. £5.50 (£4.50). See Wed 25.

Adam Buxton Presents BUG ABC, 300 Sauchiehall Street, 332 2232. 7pm. £19. See 5 Things, page 53. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Bruce Devlin goes radge with Dave Fulton, Chris Forbes and Benny Boot.

Edinburgh Men With Coconuts The Canons’ Gait, 232 Canongate, 556 4481. 8.30–10pm. £5 (£4). See Thu 12. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Susan Morrison hosts, alongside Jeff Innocent, Stephen Carlin, Sully O’Sullivan and Robin Grainger.

Friday 27

Glasgow The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 26 for line-up. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. With Chris Cairns, Del Strain and Wayne Deakin. The 10 O’Clock Show Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £10. See Fri 13, but with Ron Vaudry, Bob Graham, Kirsty Morrison and Wild Card Kitty. Edinburgh The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 26 for line-up.

Saturday 28 Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 27.