AISLING BEA Gilded Balloon Drygate, Fri 3 Apr, gildedballoon.co.uk; Studio at Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat
4 Apr, edtheatres.com Energetic stand-up from Bea who, in 2012, became the first woman to win So You Think You’re Funny in a whole 20 years. atgtickets.com/venues/ edinburgh-playhouse The Irish host of BBC2’s Mock the Week returns with some craic. See preview, page 74.
DARA O BRIAIN: JONNY & THE
CROWD TICKLER SECC, Glasgow, Fri 10 & Sat 11 Apr, secc.co.uk; Edinburgh Playhouse, Fri 15 & Sat 16 May,
BAPTISTS: ROCK THE VOTE The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 13 Apr; The Stand, Edinburgh, Wed 15 Apr,
H I T L I S T
Highlights | COMEDY
thestand.co.uk Songs, satire and silliness from Jonny & The Baptists. See preview, page 74.
KATHERINE RYAN: GLAM ROLE MODEL Òran Mór, Fri 15, Sun 17 May, oran-mor.co.uk Witty jokes and pop culture observations from the Canadian stand-up and TV star. See preview, page 74.
DERREN BROWN: MIRACLE Edinburgh Playhouse, Mon 18–Sat 23 May, atgtickets.com/venues/ edinburgh-playhouse The master of mentalism takes his newest show on the road, with off-the-scale mind games, illusion, showmanship and masses of charm. See preview, page 73.
COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS
Events are listed by city, then date. Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add
GLASGOW
GLASGOW KIDS COMEDY CLUB The Stand, Sat 4 Apr, thestand.co.uk Live comedy for younger fans, particularly those aged 8–12. Every month a selection of comedians tweak their material for the toughest audience on the planet. No under 5s; all kids must be accompanied by an adult. COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES The Stand, Wed 8 Apr, thestand.co.uk Are you bored with hip-hop scene bores moaning on about their fast cars and beautiful women? The Wee Man aims to solve this by bringing a Scottish slant to the genre and pitting the country’s best comedians against its best rappers. Game on.
HOLLY WALSH The Stand, Thu 9–Sun 12 Apr, thestand.co.uk The acclaimed stand-up and writer headlines the weekend shows, as well as Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service.
CAITLIN MORAN: HOW TO BUILD A GIRL Pavilion Theatre, Mon 13 Apr, paviliontheatre.co.uk The columnist and author is off on tour to get lairy and talk about men, women, Bowie, feminism, massive hair and the revolution in her own light-hearted but thought-provoking style. See First & Last, page 122.
ZOE LYONS: MUSTARD CUTTER The Stand, Wed 13 May, thestand.co.uk Award-winning Lyons is back with a brand new hour of comedy which takes a sly look at life before dissecting it with razor- sharp wit. This time she’s looking at snobbery in the 21st century and how we’re all guilty of it. Also The Stand, Edinburgh, Sat 16 May.
PAUL MERTON’S IMPRO CHUMS King’s Theatre, Mon 18 May, atgtickets.com/venues/kings- theatre TV comedy favourite Merton and his talented group of impro chums (read: proper show-offs) magically weave laughs from audience suggestions. Also Music Hall, Aberdeen, Sat 16 May; Eden Court, Inverness, Sun 17 May.
SPAMALOT King’s Theatre, Mon 1–Sat 6 Jun, atgtickets.com/venues/kings- theatre The Knights of the Round Table-spoofing musical from Monty Python, written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. See review, page 106. EDINBURGH
THE BROKEN WINDOWS POLICY The Stand, Wed 6 Apr, thestand.co.uk The Stand’s monthly sketch show returns with new skits and character treats featuring the best of fresh Scots comedy, including Larah Bross, Dave MacGregor and Ben Verth. MARK THOMAS: CUCKOOED Traverse Theatre, Wed 15–Sat 18 Apr, traverse.co.uk Intelligent
humour about being spied on by a large company.
ALAN CARR: YAP, YAP, YAP Edinburgh Playhouse, Fri 17 & Sat 18 Apr, atgtickets.com/venues/ edinburgh-playhouse The camp, bespectacled face of Chatty Man proves his status as the King of bitchy comedy.
ANDREW LAWRENCE: REASONS TO KILL YOURSELF The Stand, Wed 22 Apr, thestand.co.uk Vitriolic humour from the double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee. Just don’t ask him what he thinks about the general election, OK?
ROMESH RANGANATHAN & SUZI RUFFELL Assembly Roxy, Fri 24 Apr, assemblyfestival.com Razor-sharp observations, sardonic wit and offbeat, innovative storytelling from two increasingly popular rising stars of the stand-up world.
VOCA PEOPLE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat 16 May, edtheatres.com The balded-up, white besuited YouTube sensations take their blockbuster show on the road: expect a capella / beatboxing and mouth music pretty much like you’ve never heard (or seen) before. Also Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, Fri 29 May.
Voca People CUMBERNAULD
DES CLARKE: THE TROUBLE WITH BEING DES Cumbernauld Theatre, Sat 18 Apr, cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk Crowd-pleasing stand-up from the terribly genial radio guy. Also Falkirk Town Hall, Fri 1 May; Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, Sat 2 May; Paisley Arts Centre, Sat 16 May.
DUNFERMLINE
TOM STADE: DECISIONS DECISIONS Carnegie Hall, Fri 3 Apr, onfife.com The charmingly vicious, yet laid-back Edinburgh-based Canadian presents his latest solo show.
FALKIRK
RUBY WAX Falkirk Town Hall, Fri 8 May, falkirkcommunitytrust.org Ruby’s new one is all about sanity and how we can cling onto it. GLENROTHES
LEE NELSON: SUITED AND BOOTED Rothes Halls, Sat 11 Apr, onfife.com Lee Nelson, the creation of comedian Simon Brodkin, takes his banter to the live stage.
2 Apr–4 Jun 2015 THE LIST 75