list.co.uk/comedy COMEDY
The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 25 for line-up.
Sunday 28
Glasgow ✽Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 22. Scottish Comedian of the Year Grand Final O2 Academy Glasgow, 121 Eglinton Street, 0844 477 2000. 7pm. £13.50–£24.75. Ten Scottish stand-ups compete for the crown currently sitting atop the head of Larry Dean. Who’s next . . . ? Tony Jameson: Football Manager Ruined My Life The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). If Tony hadn’t spent about 20 years of his life playing Football Manager he’d probably have achieved a lot more. Thankfully he didn’t, otherwise there’d be no show.
Edinburgh Footlights Comedy Edinburgh Footlights, 7 Spittal Street, 229 6466. Times tbc. £4. See Sun 21. FREE Stu and Garry’s Free Improv Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 1.30pm. See Sun 21.
✽Ross Noble: Tangentleman Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29
Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 8pm. £25. See Fri 26.
Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £6 (£5; members £1). See Sun 21. Monday 29
Glasgow ✽Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 22. RSPB Stands Up for Nature The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 331 9805. 7.30–11pm. £8. Fundraising comedy night with tattoo man Billy Kirkwood, Gary Little, ex-Scottish Comedian of the Year Jamie Dalgleish, Zara Gladman and Eleanor Morton, who has just emerged out of her first Fringe solo show with Lollipop.
Edinburgh Red Raw The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £2. See Mon 22.
Tuesday 30
Glasgow ✽Frankie Boyle: Work in Progress The Stand, 333 Woodlands
Road, 0844 335 8879. 6pm. £10. See Mon 22. FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. See Tue 23. Red Raw The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £2. See
TV REVIEW CRACKANORY Dave, Wed 24 Sep, 10pm ●●●●●
When Rik Mayall appeared in a 1986 episode of Jackanory reading George’s Marvellous Medicine, his idiosyncratic take on Roald Dahl’s tale was loved by the kids and, sadly, pooh-poohed by a small number of parents. ‘Dangerous and offensive’ they mewled, seemingly forgetting that stuff such as mass unemployment and leaking nuclear stations might have been more worthy targets for their arch concern at that point. Three decades later and the overriding emotion on the airing of his Crackanory edition will surely be sadness mixed with pleasure that his on-air career was able to go out on a high. He shares the half-hour opening episode of this new set of Crackanories with another once-anarchic comedy hero, Vic Reeves, whose story is about a cleaner who finds herself aboard a spaceship which just so happens to be hurtling towards Mars. Mayall’s tale, ‘The Weatherman’, focuses on a rubbish local TV meteorologist who has a portrait of Michael Fish on his wall and a litany of wrong predictions to his name. But soon, some powers he had no idea were inside him are unleashed, firstly for mischief, but then arguably for more dastardly reasons.
As you’d imagine, Mayall throws himself fully into his task, clad in denim jacket and white shorts, with his chair barely being able to contain the energy that he emanated. We can even forgive him a curious double mispronunciation of ‘dreich’ and simply feel glad that this force of nature entertained us for so long. (Brian Donaldson)
Tue 23.
Edinburgh Tony Jameson: Football Manager Ruined My Life The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). See Sun 28. Wednesday 1
Glasgow New Material Night Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8pm. £3. See Wed 24. Comedian Rap Battles The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £6 (£4). The Edinburgh Fringe hit returns, bringing with it that unmissable combination of rap fantasies and big egos. With street cred on the line, who’ll choke and who’ll gain ‘nuff respect?
Perth ✽Billy Connolly: High Horse Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, 01738
621031. 8pm. SOLD OUT. See preview, page 53.
Thursday 2
Glasgow Best of WEST Brewery Comedy Club WEST Brewery, Building 4 Templeton Building, Glasgow Green, 550 0135. 8–10.30pm. £7. Jamie Dalgleish hosts some of his comedy buddies who’ve impressed at the WEST’s monthly stand- up gigs. Vespbar Virgins Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 8pm. £2. See Thu 18. Dead Sheep Comedy Cottier Theatre, 93–95 Hyndland Street, 357 4000. 8.30pm. £11 (£9). Comedy club operated by working comedians. With the estimable Gary Little, Reverend Obadiah Steppenwolf III and Joe Heenan. Just Comedy Wild Cabaret & Wicked Lounge, 18 Candleriggs, 552 6165. 9–11pm. £5 (£10 with a sharing plate and drink). See Thu 18.
Edinburgh The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). With Junior Simpson and Raymond Mearns.
Perth ✽Billy Connolly: High Horse Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, 01738
621031. 8pm. SOLD OUT. See Wed 1.
Friday 3
Glasgow ✽Gilded Balloon Comedy at Drygate Drygate Brewing Co, 85
Drygate, 212 8815. 7.30–9.30pm & 10pm– midnight. £15 for show only; £30 for show and two-course meal; £33 for show and three-course meal. Tonight’s acts are Dan Nightingale, Fern Brady (see Student Special, page 127) and Edd Hedges with MC Ray Bradshaw. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 8.30pm. £12 (£10; members £6). With Rudi Lickwood, Paul Myrehaug and host Billy Kirkwood. Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £15. With Patrick Rolink, John Scott and Mark Nelson.
Edinburgh Stand Up for St Columba’s Hospice Prestonfield, the Stables, Priestfield Road, 551 1381. 7pm–1am. £95. Des Clarke, Jo Caulfield, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Keir McAllister host this evening of comedy and music in aid of St Columba’s. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £9. See Fri 19. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 2 for line-up.
5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . AISLING BEA 1 Aisling Bea’s late grandfather Micheál O’Suilleabháin was a Gaelic novelist, her grand-aunt Siobhán Ní Shúilleabháin is a prolific Gaelic writer and dramatist and her mother is a retired professional flat race jockey. 2 She studied French and Philosophy at Trinity College in Dublin and then trained in Classical Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. While at Trinity she became a member of sketch group HBAM which came to the Edinburgh Fringe on two occasions. The performing bug had clearly bitten. 3 In 2012, Bea became only the second woman to win So You Think You’re Funny, 20 whole years after Rhona Cameron scooped that crown. But when it comes to the Irish winning said prize, well bejesus, she’s surrounded by them, with Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan and David O’Doherty among the previous victors. 4 Bea has, inevitably, had her troubles on Twitter when some over-sensitive souls took comments she made about a particular One Direction member just tagging along for the ride a little too seriously. Bea’s bigger mistake was trying to reason with the offended teenager. 5 She believes that 50% of her personality is caffeine and 29% is made up of potato. ‘Nothing chills out the soul like the comfort of tea and a potato’, she has said as some kind of empirical evidence for these stats. (Brian Donaldson) ■ Gilded Ballon Comedy at Drygate, Glasgow, Fri 26 Sep.
Saturday 4
Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £16. See Fri 3. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Fri 3 for line-up.
Edinburgh ✽Billy Connolly: High Horse Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 8pm.
SOLD OUT. See Wed 1.
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