COMEDY | Previews
SKETCH GROUP ASPERGER’S ARE US Summerhall, Edinburgh, Tue 27 Jun; Websters Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 22 Jul MY COMEDY HERO RUSSELL KANE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Sun 18 Jun
The thing to remember about US comedy troupe Asperger’s Are Us is that they’re nothing like ‘the fictional portrayals on popular rubbish sitcoms’ (yes Big Bang Theory, we’re looking at you). ‘Being held as “poster boys” for the Asperger’s community is very weird,’ says Noah Britton, one of the four comics in the sketch team. ‘We’re very grateful for all the attention we’ve received, and we continue to push ourselves to be funnier and funnier to keep earning it.’
Since 2010, the four-piece have been creating comedy together, and were even the subject of a documentary. ‘It’s called Planet Earth and is narrated by David Attenborough. We appear in the wide shots and weren’t even paid for our appearances.’ As luck would have it, they were in a second documentary called, somewhat appropriately, Asperger’s Are Us, described on their Twitter page as ‘accidentally-misleading’.
‘It's been very helpful for getting us publicity, but shows our less comedic side,’ says Britton. ‘It still has some good funny parts mixed in with the sappy drama, though.’ To get a sense of what their humour is actually like, think absurdist sketches with a healthy dose of wordplay (fans of Vic & Bob, Jimmy Carr and Monty Python should lap it up). Or, as Britton puts it: ‘we probably unintentionally offend audience members a lot more often than neurotypical comedians do and we apologise in advance if any of our fans are stupid enough to be offended. If you caught the sarcasm in that, you'll probably enjoy our show.’ (Kirstyn Smith)
The reason why it’s tricky for me to pick a comedy hero is that up until ten days before I first performed stand-up comedy, I had never watched it, unless you count my dad’s VHS tapes of Jimmy Jones and Roy Chubby Brown. It wasn’t until my mid-20s before I put my arse on a seat in The Comedy Store. Until then, I’d put people like Laurel & Hardy and the Three Stooges on a pedestal.
But since I started comedy, who has made me laugh til I cry and who have I taken bits from and absorbed into my DNA like an alien without parents, as that’s what I am when it comes to comedy? Well, don’t tell him, but Stewart Lee would definitely be up there. It’s hard to make a stand-up laugh but his latest show really did that to me. A bit of a mentor bordering on a hero would have to be Lee Mack who I was booked to support on his tour around 2005. I sat at the side of the stage and watched that show every night and learned much of what you will see on Right Man, Wrong Age; that’s about how to use your body and accents and face so that when you tell a joke the whole ripple of it goes through you. That’s how Lee Mack does it, and that was transformative for me. He’s a real bridge between the one-liner comics and the more modern stuff. And Ross Noble has taught me to go on stage with one word and see what happens. So much of what I have going on now is thanks to him. (As told to Brian Donaldson) ■ See more about Russell Kane’s comedy heroes at list.co.uk/comedy
CHARACTER DUO ANGELOS & BARRY: THE NEW POWER GENERATION TOUR Òran Mór, Glasgow, Thu 8 Jun
They’re either a comedy match made in heaven or a touring version of the odd couple. When the 82-year-old Barry From Watford (actually a fortysomething Alex Lowe) and much younger Angelos Epithemiou (Dan Renton Skinner) take to the road, chaos may well ensue. Barry’s extensive media experience from calling in to Steve Wright’s Radio 2 show, as well as performing ventriloquism at his local club allied to burger van impresario Angelos’ days as sidekick to Vic ‘n’ Bob, should help grease the audience’s wheels.
More crucially, will they be sharing accommodation on the
road? ‘I’d be very happy to do that to save money,’ insists the prudent Barry. ‘Whether that involved sharing a bed or a bunk bed or a put-me-up, a sit-me-down, a lie-me-down or a bend- me-over, I do not know.’ ‘He has one of those big oxygen tanks and I’ve said to him if
that blows up, I’m moving rooms,’ chips in Angelos. ‘I’ve had to lay down the law a little bit. And he snores.’ ‘I’m sure he’ll be able to sleep through,’ counters Barry. ‘What
goes on tour stays on tour. My wife Margaret has given me carte blanche, so I might stay out all night. I'll maybe go to the casino.’
In terms of what they’ll actually be doing on stage, Angelos insists that the ‘big stuff’ will be on their minds. ‘We’ll discuss the economy, ecology, Europe, superyachts. I don’t have a superyacht because it’s a waste of money. If I had all that cash, I’d spend it on something much more worthwhile, like an elephant. At the very least it could wash your car.’ ‘The honest truth is we’re going to be trotting out the usual rubbish,’ confesses Barry. ‘There will, of course, be a number of important themes but if anyone can actually uncover them, that’s another matter.’ (Brian Donaldson)
72 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017