COMEDY | Previews 56 THE LIST 5 Feb–2 Apr 2015
STAND-UP SUSAN CALMAN Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 4 Mar; Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 21 Mar
Describing her current touring show as ‘a proper night of good, old-fashioned entertainment’, Susan Calman has nevertheless been getting quite a lot off her chest with Lady Like. The show is partly about the Radio 4 stalwart trying to enjoy her own company and personality more these days. While it does touch on dark moments from her distant and recent past, a joyfulness runs through it, from a romantic gesture gone awry in Paris, and trying to realise her dreams of being a ballerina, to a daft TV escapade in Iceland with Phil Tufnell. For Calman, it’s essentially all about being positive.
‘People can look at me and know that I’ve had a difficult
time but I’m still here, standing on stage. We all know as comedians how badly affected we can be by a bad review, but it’s all about positivity. In terms of the more difficult stuff, you hold back a little bit; there’s a fine line between pity and laughter, and I don’t want people to feel sorry for me.’ A corporate lawyer turned stand-up comic, the clients she looks after these days are all shiny, happy, laughing people. And given that Calman won Chortle’s best compere award in 2012, she clearly knows how to please an audience. ‘Fundamentally, you want people to leave feeling better than they did when they came in; for me that’s the ultimate goal. Compering can be a gentle thing. A lot of people are frightened of comedy because they’ve seen a compere who’s really gone for somebody in the audience, or been particularly acerbic or rude. If I ask a question, it’s just that I want to know an answer. Comedy is a conversation, in every way, and hopefully you get a response.’ (Brian Donaldson)
SKETCH BURNISTOUN King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 25 Mar
Has Still Game unwittingly started a new trend? After the Kiernan and Hemphill show made a highly successful transition from small screen to the large stage of the SSE Hydro last autumn, Iain Connell and Robert Florence have followed suit by bringing their cult Comedy Unit sketch affair, Burnistoun, to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Kicking off in 2009, Burnistoun lasted three BBC series, and with Connell and
Florence creating new show The Sunny (a pilot episode was broadcast last October), it may have seemed that the pair had moved on. But when tickets for their GICF show sold out in less than an hour, it might have dawned on them that there could be more life in the likes of Jolly Boy John (For Real!), the Quality Polis McGregor and Toshan, ice-cream men Paul and Walter (allegedly killed off, but perhaps given a posthumous tribute here), and those stubborn voice-recognition lifts that can’t quite penetrate the Scottish accent (everyone shout ‘elivin’ on cue). And so the really good news for those who weren’t quick enough to snap up
a seat for the King’s date is that Burnistoun might now take to the road and spread its wings to other parts of the country. And no, I’m not a member of Sarcasmaholics Anonymous. (Brian Donaldson)
STAND-UP LLOYD LANGFORD The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 15 Mar
When Lloyd Langford takes to the stage, don’t expect an exhibition of comedic machismo. Instead, this Welsh funnyman (who has been variously dubbed as ‘mild-mannered’, ‘a loveable misanthrope’ and ‘wise fool’) displays all the attributes of someone who wanders in and out of museums and libraries in order to broaden his mind. ‘Out of all those, I really like “wise fool”,’ admits the laconic comic who is celebrating the tenth
anniversary of being crowned Chortle Student Comedian of the Year. ‘I don’t really play high status on stage and that’s a conscious thing; I could never see myself as being one of those comedians who comes out on stage in a leather jacket saying how brilliant they are. There’s something about looking at something with naivety or amusement and taking an idea and shuffling it about to try and make sense of it. I’d much rather go: “I don’t really understand this”.’ Langford’s current show, Old Fashioned, has him upping his ante in the wide-eyed innocence
stakes as he ponders the royal family, cinema etiquette, e-cigarettes, soup and the strange, magical world of social media. ‘It’s about me being confused by things like Snapchat or NekNomination, and with a phenomenon like the ice-bucket challenge. I’m not on Twitter, and so much stuff is conducted through social networks that I probably do miss out on certain things. But I’m quite a shy person and don’t want my life being broadcast to people.’ (Brian Donaldson)