STAND-UP SEAN LOCK King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 25 Nov

Being grumpy can be good for business. In stand-up comedy, this could almost be considered a prerequisite for the job and, as Sean Lock acknowledges, his ‘rehearsed moaning’ has served him well. Now he’s having a good old whinge at several subjects under the ironically titled umbrella of Keep it Light. First up, he can’t be doing with James Bond. ‘I find the very notion of him so ridiculous,’ Lock maintains. ‘This thought that one man can save the world is so childish; an inebriated nine-year- old would struggle to maintain plausibility in that idea. I’ll talk about immigration which is always fun because it’s an easy topic to get wrong. But I keep it light. I talk about isolation of the elderly in our society and how they can live out forgotten and anguished lives with barely even the flicker of recognition from their neighbours. But I’ll be keeping that light.’

Having cultivated a critically acclaimed comedy career which has been reaping box office rewards for over a decade now, Lock always makes it look fairly effortless on stage. But, believe him, none of this comes especially easy. ‘My major regret in life is not going to university, though not for the qualification I would have gained,’ he states. ‘People I know who went there have a working method where they sit down and get something done; they know how to start and get on with things. I will do anything to avoid getting on with stuff. I have one method and that’s blind panic, so I’ll sit down in my kitchen and suddenly get on with it. Maybe I just imagine it’s greener for other people.’ (Brian Donaldson)

STAGE SHOW TRAILER PARK BOYS Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 10 Dec

In recent years, Canadian comedy series Trailer Park Boys has built itself quite the cult reputation on these shores. Now, Sunnyvale Trailer Park’s most infamous residents are set to descend on Glasgow for an evening of festive mayhem. In the charmingly titled Dear Santa Claus, Go F#ck Yourself tour, we find the terrible trio attempting to seek out fame, fortune and the real Father Christmas himself: to what ends, we shudder to think. Trailer Park Boys follows the exploits and misadventures of petty criminals Julian, Ricky and Bubbles as they try to eke out a pitiful existence on the proceeds of minor crime through a fug of dope and cheap booze. Their plans are regularly thwarted by the local authorities and their nemesis, the park’s alcoholic supervisor, Jim Lahey, along with his cheeseburger-worshipping lover, Randy.

Starting out as a feature film in 1999 before transitioning to TV two years later, Mike Clattenburg’s bawdy comedy came to a natural end in 2008 with one-off special Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys. But popular comedies rarely stay dead and, as is the trend these days, it was brought back to life in 2014, courtesy of Netflix. The series is still going strong and about to enter its 11th season. Unlike most mockumentary comedies, Trailer Park Boys not only acknowledges the presence of the film crew but regularly involves them in key plot points, resulting in some unwitting production members being shot and tasered. So if you’re of a nervous disposition then it’s probably best to sit back from the front row. (Murray Robertson)

COMEDY | Previews

LOCAL LAUGHS GARY MEIKLE GLASGOW’S RISING STAND-UP HAS A GO AT OUR Q&A

What was the moment when you thought: ‘stand- up is for me’? I’ve always enjoyed comedy but rarely fantasised about being a comedian until I found myself stuck in a boring office job. I then discovered after six years of working with a computer that I had Microsoft Word: yup, I’m that much of a technophobe. I then started doodling with no intention of anything other than to fill my time but after a few pages of what must have been pretty shit anecdotes, I decided that what I had would be good for a comedian. After a few more weeks I thought, ‘sod it, I’ll try this myself’, applied for an open spot at the Halt Bar and that was it. Do you have any pre-show rituals? I only need five minutes of alone time, either pacing up and down or sitting with my head in my hands roughly going over

whatever I plan to talk about, which more often than not gets changed once I’m up there and in the moment. What do you remember about your very first stand-up gig? I remember being dressed up like a tit: I wore Bono glasses, shorts, baseball boots and a Freddy Krueger-style jumper as I thought I had to look funny too! Even thinking about that now gives me the willies.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another comedian? Best bit of advice, which has come from a few comedians, was simply to be myself, not worry about what other comedians are doing and just create my own path. Gary Meikle is at The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 5–Sat 7 Jan. See more of this q&a at list.co.uk/comedy

84 THE LIST 3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017