And then republished on Chortle http://www.chortle.co.uk/features/2011/05/11/13268/in_any_other_job_youd_call_the_police…

Sexist Heckling a Reality for Female Comedians

Author Jen Lavery

For some female pedestrians, being publicly harassed by drunk or just-plain-sexist men is a relatively rare, if unwelcome occurrence; for female stand-up comedians, however, this is an eventuality that needs to be prepared for every time they walk on stage – and it’s not just the male audience members they have to worry about.

Comedians hate hecklers. Female comedians hate hecklers. Male comedians hate hecklers. People who work in comedy clubs hate hecklers. People who frequent comedy clubs hate hecklers. In fact, it’s quite likely that even hecklers hate other hecklers. For those of you out there thinking – but surely comedians love that sort of thing? Surely it helps their act along? No, it doesn’t. They have an act and it’s a solo one. Still not convinced? Okay, if heckling is so ‘helpful’ why do you never see comedians being heckled by other comedians? Why do you never see comedy club staff heckling? Because they know doing so would make the comedian on stage very justifiably pissed off.

Yes, comedians have to learn to handle hecklers because unfortunately people still heckle. But time spent dealing with a heckler is time taken away from their (usually limited) stage time, which would otherwise have been filled with jokes they have worked hard to write and perfect, and that every other person in the audience has parted with their hard-earned money to hear. Nobody pays to hear some drunk punter shouting out and interrupting constantly. If that was entertaining they would simply wait for the pubs to close, follow the drunkest looking person possible home and throw tenners at them as they attempted to fight parked cars.

Comedian Susan Calman puts it this way: “I hate hecklers more than life itself.  If you come to comedy PLEASE don’t do it because it ruins it for absolutely everybody. I didn’t get into this to spend twenty-five minutes shouting at somebody so drunk they can’t understand English and a basic request to be quiet.  My rule is – I shouldn’t have to perform in front of somebody who wouldn’t be picked up by a taxi outside.”

Unfortunately, the type of heckling that female comedians in particular experience can be a whole other beast. Comedians don’t get to choose who they perform to and Calman has her “fair” share of heckler horror-stories, the worst of which prompted the only walk-off of her career:

“I was at a club in Edinburgh doing a night which was almost entirely comprised of stags (bachelors), which isn’t a problem – stags tend to be okay. But they were all very, very drunk and the compere (host) hadn’t really done anything to settle them down. I was on first and it was a very aggressive atmosphere immediately.  I said to one of the gentlemen in the stag party “What do you do for a living?” and he said, “I kill fat dykes.” It took me a couple of moments to actually realise what he had said because you don’t expect something like that. It’s the only time I’ve ever walked off. I actually said, “You can all go and fuck yourselves.”  If I wouldn’t put up with it in the street, why should I put up with it on stage?”

However, as with when women get hassled in the streets, there are times when it’s best to walk away and times when it’s best to tackle the issue head on.

“I’ve had the usual – it’s terrible that you say “the usual,” but I’ve had the usual things shouted at me, about my appearance or my sexuality,” says Calman. “A guy offered to cure me of my lesbianism with his penis recently, which was interesting because he was offering essentially to rape me. Sometimes when people take you aback you have to stop the comedy and speak to the person directly. So I said “Do you really think that’s what I require? A middle-aged man to fuck me in order to change my orientation?”  That’s why I think when you’re doing comedy it’s best not to be drunk. You have to have your wits about you. Situations like that can escalate – you have to stay calm and beat them on an intelligence level. Obviously all of these statements are very stupid, so you have to counteract them and get the rest of the audience on side by making it clear that’s not an acceptable thing to say.”

English stand-up Bethany Black reported that she has been threatened with rape by hecklers so often that she now has a standard response.  She remembers one gig in particular where a man who’d been persistently disrupting her set shouted out, “Someone’s getting a raping once the show’s over.”

“I’ve heard that line enough times on stage to know that the correct response to that is “Yes, once the rohypnol kicks in and I get the dildo out my bag.  And don’t worry, I’ll drop you near to the hospital so you won’t have to walk far to get your stitches.” It’s strange that in any other job, if a member of the public or a customer said something like that you’d call the police, but in the job I do you become blasé about it.”

However, when discussing the incident with other female stand-ups, Black did note that the response she got to this story was anything but blasé.

“It was a week later when I was talking about this with Tiff [Stevenson] and she was shocked. That’s when I realised that getting threatened with rape doesn’t happen to all female comics, but I’ve had it about five or six times.”

Of course, heckling is not only a problem for female comedians. Male comedians also get heckled, and it’s arguable that men are heckled more than women, either because they are perceived as being “more able to handle it” or simply because some people think it’s less socially acceptable to challenge a woman in this way. Some male comedians have also remarked that they find it much more difficult to put down a female heckler than a male one, as the audience may perceive a man who deals out a nasty put-down to a woman as being a bully. Obviously there is a lot to be said about why attitudes like this exist, but that’s for another article. One thing many acts I spoke to did agree on, was that the nature of “the usual” heckles given to women were generally quite different from those of their male counterparts.
Scottish comedian Jay Lafferty hypothesizes why this might be the case.  “I think with men, heckles are usually more about what they’re saying in the material and less about them personally. Female heckles generally tend to be about how you look or simply the fact that you’re a woman. So it’s less ‘productive’ heckling, if a heckle can be productive. Sometimes you see guys getting heckled and they can actually play around with it, whereas a lot of the time when women get heckled it’s just ‘Get your tits out’ or something that you have a standard response to. It’s a kind of dead avenue, really.”

Welsh stand-up Sian Bevan agreed: “Anyone who is dying onstage will get heckled, male or female. But as a broad generalisation I think men tend to get banter-y heckles and the ones for women tend to seem more aggressive. There’s nothing you can do with them. It’s very much like a gang of little boys in a playground. It feels like there are some gigs where the woman couldn’t have done anything. She was up against a brick wall the minute she walked, with her tits, on to stage.”

As many comedians adopt a certain persona when on stage, responding to aggressive heckles can be doubly detrimental, as it can force acts to ‘break persona’ and become confrontational in return.  This can sometimes leave acts feeling they’ve no option but to ‘grin and bear it.’

English stand-up Tiffany Stevenson discussed a recent gig she had done in a student union, where not only was she heckled with “Get your tits out!” but had the added difficulty of an extremely large rugby player stripping naked and climbing on to the stage with her, where he remained for a good few minutes before leaving of his own accord. Stevenson was given no help by the venue security, who had apparently been otherwise engaged.

“The head of the student union was in the front row but he didn’t do anything,” says Stevenson. “It’s not as if the guy on stage was a small man. I joked my way out of it but afterwards it took me about an hour to get over the fact it had really happened.”

While this article isn’t suggesting female comedians need to be “rescued” from “big bad hecklers,” comedians of both sexes have often expressed disappointment that friends of those who are determined to make a nuisance of themselves don’t do more to stop them when things start getting out of hand.

Irish comedian Carol Tobin recalls a particularly unsettling example. “There’s often the assumption that women comics are lesbians. I was doing a gig and a drunk guy shouted “Lesbian!” for at least ten minutes of my set. He didn’t stretch out the word “Lesbian” to last the whole ten minutes – that would be impressive. He kept roaring “Lesbian! Lesbian! Lesbian!” all through. I have nothing against lesbians—he could have been roaring “Raging hetero!” It was the fact that it was incessant, ruining my performance and the audience’s enjoyment. It made everyone in the room uncomfortable.  When I got off stage after a pointless struggle, his friends, who were sitting with him, apologised for his behaviour. I asked why they didn’t shut him up and they just looked at me, baffled.”

Most of the acts I spoke to described “the usual” heckles they and other women got. For the most part they were pretty standard and probably not that different from the harassment many women face in the streets. “Get your tits out”; “I’d love to fuck/pump/shag/etc you”; “Fancy a fuck/shag/pump/etc”; “I would!”; “You’re fit”; etc., with a few less common ones thrown in.

Lafferty says, “I’ve had guys say, “Aw, it’s a woman, she’ll be shite,” as soon as I’ve come on stage, before I’ve even opened my mouth. I’ve got a line I use: “Oh, a female comic, boys! It’s like finding out your lapdancer’s got a cock!” I’ve also had men approach me before gigs and say: “Are you on? Women aren’t funny.” So I’ve replied: “Well why do you think that?” They’ve never really got a reason, they just repeat: “Women aren’t funny, all female acts are rubbish.” So I’ll ask how many female acts they’ve seen and why they think that.  And it’s always the same response: “They just are, they’re just fucking rubbish, they all talk about periods.” So I ask who’ve they’ve seen that talks about periods and they can never answer me. They’ll say things like: “Well, Jo Brand’s not very funny.” There are male comics that other people don’t find funny too, it doesn’t really matter what sex you are.”

This was a common experience for the acts I spoke to, many of whom often had audience members come up to them after a show and utter the immortal line: “I usually hate female comedians, but you were really good!”

Scottish comedian Kim MacAskill recalls an incident: “I’ve been told by audience members that I’m good – for a girl. I’ve had people tell me I’m really funny and it’s amazing because I’m not a lesbian or ugly.”

“I can’t believe people think it’s still okay to say comments like “I hate female comedians,” says Sian Bevan. “Replace “female” with “black”, “gay”, “Asian” – it’s just horrific. I think that’s the main thing that I really hate: “Oh you were good for a woman. I hate female comedians but you were quite good.” I think it’s shocking, absolutely shocking.”

And here we come to an interesting point. One thing that was again remarked on by many of the acts interviewed for this piece was that half the time “encouraging” comments like this came from other women. Jay Lafferty reported that in her worst ever experience with an aggressive heckler, the audience member was a woman, who then approached her after the show with a glass bottle. Lafferty, feeling justifiably threatened, was forced to “grin and bear it” and calmed the woman down by telling her her “contributions” had been great, and really helped the show along.

And violence against comedians isn’t uncommon – in March this year, a 23-year-old male comedian had his face slashed open by a female heckler in a New York club. American comedian Hailey Boyle told me of an incident where she was physically assaulted by a female audience member.

“It was after a show and some people wanted to have pictures taken with me. Much to my surprise, as we are posing, a woman around 50 years old grabbed my crotch! And I mean GRABBED me – if I were wearing a skirt she would have been inside me! I was so shocked I fell back against the wall and froze up for a moment, then the staff escorted her out. It was so weird; she didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with what she did. As they took her out I heard her say “Well, she was dirty on stage and I wanted to be dirty too.“

While all comedians have some sort of “uniform” for performing, female comedians generally feel the need  to put a little bit more thought into what they wear. Broadly speaking, low-cut tops were considered not a good idea by the comedians I spoke with, with some acts also mentioning leggings being a no-no, unless you want the front row avidly staring at your crotch, rather than listening to your act. Irish comedian Eleanor Tiernan noted that once she stopped wearing high heels on stage, the number of sexual heckles she received dropped dramatically. Jay Lafferty commented that when she stopped dressing in tight or revealing clothing, the response she got from female audience members improved immensely.

And unfortunately, not all the sexism comes from audiences. Many of the acts I spoke to reported they had been discriminated against by other people in the comedy circuit because of their gender.

Welsh act Kiri Pritchard-McLean told me about an experience she had after making it to the final of a comedy competition.

“After I finished my set, the MC asked—as he had done with the other acts—for feedback. When asked what he thought of me, the professional comic judge said: “Nice tits.” He then mentioned some of my material and then the comedy reviewer judge, who was female, said: “Yeah, I agree with what ##### said and yeah – nice tits.” It was really humiliating. The comic came up to me afterwards and said: “You weren’t offended were you?” which then makes you feel like a bit of a dick if you turn around and say “Yes,” so I just smiled. I have vowed that when I see him next I will take him aside and just explain that it was pretty humiliating to have that given as feedback. I was very irritated at the time…but I’ve put it as a quote at the bottom of my CV now. Clever, old ironic me.

“I also recently received an email from the organisers of another competition I’d entered. I’ve not doctored this at all “Once everyone is there, we’ll do the draw for running order. That said – if two female/music/prop/gay/whatever acts are consecutive, I’ll split them up to make a better show for the audience.”

The rule of not booking more than one woman on the same bill is unfortunately still a very common one, and does nothing to remove the idea of female comedians being a “novelty.”  Even worse, some female acts reported simply being told by promoters they had approached that they only booked men.

“I remember one incident in particular with a promoter who said to me: “Oh I would book you but I don’t book female acts,” Lafferty recalls. “I said: “Why not?” and he replied: “Cos they’re not funny.” So I said “But you’ve just seen me and you’ve just said I was funny.” To give him his dues he did then book me and he has booked me since. I try to not get annoyed about it.  I challenge it by being funny on the stage and by getting on with the job at hand.”
Or, from the opposite side of the spectrum, Scottish comedian Fern Brady recalled an incident where the problem wasn’t that there weren’t any other WOMEN performing, it was what they were performing.

“I did a charity gig that had two burlesque dancers on the bill. Instead of putting me on in the comedy section, they said they were putting me in between the two burlesque acts “so it’s all girls together.” I was really angry about that, and it was painfully inevitable that I got heckled with “Get your tits out.”

Hailey Boyle also had some shocking tales to tell about her dealings with US promoters.

“I have had one former club owner in particular regularly try to “bargain” with me – “Show me one tit and I’ll put you on the show!” This was after years of failed attempts to see both tits, which followed a year or two of trying to have sex with me. Once he even went so far as to try to push his way into my apartment.”

Kiri Pritchard-Mclean was not the only act interviewed who had experienced sexism at the hands of other performers. In fact, every single woman interviewed for this piece had been. From comperes making comments to the audience about their sexuality or appearance when introducing them on stage, to all but apologising for the fact that the next act was a woman, everyone I spoke to had their story to tell. Sian Bevan recalled the first time she attempted to join in ‘backstage banter’ with a group of male comedians who had been discussing the fact that that night’s audience looked difficult. The response?

“What’s wrong with you? Are you on your fucking period or something?”

All this being said – it’s not all doom and gloom. While clearly sexist attitudes do still exist and do need to be dealt with, the majority of those working on the comedy circuit are among the most pleasant and enlightened people you are likely to meet. Most people who come to watch comedy know the best thing to do is sit back and let the professionals do the entertaining. All the interviewees for this article are still performing, along with hundreds of other female comedians across the country and around the world, who are on stage almost every night, making people laugh, taking on hecklers of both sexes. Just about everyone interviewed agreed that it is getting easier to be female on the stand up circuit. With many more high profile acts such as Sarah Millican, Jo Caulfield, Zoe Lyons and Josie Long, plus writers like Julia Davis, Jessica Hynes and Tina Fey, audiences are getting more used to seeing women in comedy. We have the female acts – including Jo Brand – that’ve already gone out and battled to make their voices heard to thank for that. So treat them all with respect – be it on the street or in the club.

***

Jen Lavery is a freelance journalist who is also Head of Press at The Stand Comedy Clubs in Scotland, where she has worked for nearly nine years. Since its beginnings in 1995, The Stand has aimed to have at least one woman on every bill. Follow Jen on Twitter @JenniferLavery.

Uncaged Monkeys @ The King’s Theatre, 3 April
Posted by Jen Lavery, Thu 07 Apr 2011

Opening the first section was star of the show, Professor Brian Cox. Although fans of his BBC programme might sometimes have wondered if trips to exotic locations were really necessary to show how the universe works, his theories and equations did prove slightly more difficult for the non-scientists amongst us to absorb when faced with just the man himself and large screen. That being said, there were still enough amazing facts in the more basic stuff to hold the rapt attention of the entire audience (even those whose scientific education only went as far as some long-forgotten Standard Grades).

Performances from Simon Singh and psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman gave us a lot of entertaining, intelligent food for thought. Singh’s section on The Bible Code vs. The Moby Dick Code, in particular, was especially enjoyable for those who put more faith in science than a 2000-year-old ghost-written book.

Guardian science columnist Ben Goldacre had been onstage for all of two minute before his PowerPoint presentation decided to black out; those of us who have struggled with technology ourselves finding some degree of comfort in the sight of Goldacre and Cox being momentarily stumped by the laptop’s refusal to work. However, whilst his set didn’t contain many surprises for those familiar with his book, Goldacre proved a charming presence. Scare-mongering journalists should be forced to copy out his insights on medical testing and the pharmaceutical industry repeatedly, until they swear never to neglect their fact-checking again.

When sandwiched between Goldacre and Cox, the science link in Helen Arney’s music proved too tenuous, potentially reinforcing the impression that women aren’t really involved in ‘hard sciences’. Considering Arney actually has a physics degree, this seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity. However, with so much information to take in from the other speakers, some of the audience may have been happy for the chance to give their brains a short break.

There’s really no other option than to give this show five stars. There can’t have been one person who didn’t leave The King’s with some part of their mind blown by what they had witnessed. My advice? Book tickets now, and take money with you. You won’t be able to resist the book stall in the foyer as you leave.

Planet Mearns

Posted by Jen Lavery, Fri 01 Apr 2011

Raymond Mearns tells us all about life in a comedy collective

There was sadness among many west-coast comedy enthusiasts when improv troupe Dance Monkey Boy, Dance! called it a day on their bi-monthly Monday night show at The Stand. But fans of the Boys will be pleased to know that Raymond Mearns and John Ross, joined by Limmy’s Show alumni Tom Brogan and Debbie Welsh, will be returning under the guise of Planet Mearns at the Glasgow  International Comedy Festival!

So what’s life like on Planet Mearns? Let’s ask the man himself.

The team have been working on sketches for about a year and half. “We sit down together, have a laugh, talk about things that have happened, come up with situations and build sketches on that. If you liked the Monkey Boys, you will absolutely, definitely like this.” Whilst it isn’t improvised like DMBD, Mearns sees it as an extension of that improvised spirit; the sketches are “a result of us getting together and just messing about”.

Ross, who was the last permanent member of the Monkey Boys (“It was because of me it disbanded. ‘Cause they knew they wouldn’t get anyone better after that!”) is also very excited by the new project.

“We’ve played a couple of gigs in The Stand and they went down really well. We’re going to be filming some stuff too, which I’m really pleased about. The dynamic between the four of us works really well and it’s making us laugh all the time so I think it’s going to be a great show!”

It could be a case of ‘see them live while you can’ as the troupe have already generated interest among TV and radio producers. Mearns recalls the reaction of comedian and writer Phil Differ to their scripts, who told him “‘You can tell these have been written for YOU. They’ve not been written to tell people maybe what they want to hear or to copy what’s the current in vogue. These are absolutely written from the heart and they’re fucking funny.’”

Richard Herring to perform classic routine at The Stand 
4-star show comes to Edinburgh

By Jen Lavery
 
14 March 2011 10:14 GMT

Considering he’s done shows in Edinburgh nearly every year for the past twenty-four, you might think comedian Richard Herring would have perhaps gotten a little fed up with the place.

Quite the contrary, he assures us: “I love the city! And I love coming up out of Fringe time because it’s so different. It’s almost slightly eerie – you’re used to it in a certain context and suddenly it’s like you’re in an alternate universe or something. That being said, it’s always a pleasure not to have thousands of idiots pounding the streets trying to get you to come and see their show. It’s a city I really love and I always have a great time.”

“I especially love coming down to The Stand; it’s pretty tight but just a perfect space for comedy. I’ve got loads of great memories of being there.”

So what can audiences at The Stand expect when his show rolls into town on Sunday 27th March?

“It’s called ‘Christ on a Bike – The Second Coming’. It’s a show I first did in 2001 and I thought I’d give it another crack. It’s always been my favourite stand-up show and it’s not on DVD so it’s a good one to go back to. I’ve built up more of a fan base over the last few years so I’d wanted to create an opportunity for more people to come and see it. It’s about my relationship, as an atheist, with Jesus; basically so why I’m obsessed with him even though I’ve turned away from the path. I was brought up as a Christian but became disillusioned with it quite young.”

While some may find the notion of a comedy show about Jesus to be controversial in its very inception, Herring isn’t looking to get cheap laughs out of religion.

“It’s quite funny to me that there are people judging a show they haven’t seen and deciding what it’s going to be about. In essence they’re really creating an offensive show in their own heads, then getting offended by it. But they’re complaining about what they imagine the show to be rather than what it actually is.

“If you were a very strict Christian you might be offended by some of it, but mostly it’s only asking questions that any sensible person would ask and it’s quite respectful in the end. The Deacon of Edinburgh University came to see it in the first run and he said to me he wished he was able to talk as openly about the Bible as I did because it does throw up all these contradictions and questions.”

And there’s still plenty for those die-hard Herring fans who did see the show prior to its resurrection.

“There’s about four or five major new routines in it and it’s evolving all the time. If you saw it in 2001 there’ll be plenty of additional stuff to entertain you. Plus some of the routines in there are among my favourite that I’ve done. They don’t really work outwith the context of the show so it’s nice to go back and revisit them.”

And this is one show you won’t leave empty-handed.

“You always get some sort of freebie at my show and you get the option to give money to charity in return! You don’t have to, but everyone’s always been very generous. So we’re raising lots of money and awareness for Scope, a brilliant charity. Despite my atheism there still is a morality behind my life!”

Milton Jones: “Glasgow does have a bit of a reputation of killing people from the South”

Posted by Jen Lavery, Fri 11 Mar 2011

Milton Jones conquers his fear of Weegies to tread the boards at the MGICF

Fresh from his Best Headliner win at the Chortle awards, Milton Jones will be appearing at the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival for the first time this year. So what can we expect from The Lion Whisperer?

“You won’t learn anything by coming, but people seem to laugh for an hour and a half. Lots of one-liners, music, stupid stories and characters. If you’ve seen me before, it’s a lot more of the same, but different from last time. The last tour there wasn’t music but I think with one-liners you need to break it up a bit.”

In Jones’ recent book, Where Do Comedians Go To Die?, his main character names Glasgow as one of a number of cities where gigs often involve ‘appealing to the hearts and minds of people who have neither’ – could this explain why he’s only making his debut now?

“Glasgow does have a bit of a reputation of killing people from the South but I’ve always got away with it. I usually say the more of an outsider I am the higher my hair has to go up. It lowers my status to some degree and makes people feel less threatened if I look like an idiot. I think the reason that this is my debut though is called “being invited”. That’s probably the main reason. I’m in Edinburgh and Aberdeen around the same time so it fitted in quite nicely.”

In a time where the word comedy has arguably become synonymous with controversy, some might be surprised to learn that Jones is also a Christian. Can it be difficult combining faith and a comedy career?

“Because stand-ups are pretty much in control of what they say it doesn’t affect me when I’m doing my own shows. I don’t use my “pulpit” as a tool to preach to the unconverted. I say what I think will be funny, and I’m employed to be funny first. When it gets harder is when I’m on a show, like Mock the Week where subjects come up where maybe I do feel quite strongly about them. But the opinions I have are far from funny and they’d just cause trouble.”

While Milton’s show may already be sold out by the time you read this, it won’t be your only chance to sample him this year.

”I’m doing a sitcom pilot over the summer for Channel 4 called House of Rooms with Dan Evans. My character is living in a big house with his mother. She used to be an actress but now she’s quite bitter. We’ve got a lot of tenants, some of whom are mad. There are hints of Rising Damp and Father Ted. I’ve also just done a pilot for Dave; we’re waiting to hear if we’ve got a series on that. It’s called Milton’s College of Knowledge and that’s more a factual based thing. I say facts; we’ve made  most of them up so… it’s like QI. Except you won’t learn anything at all.”

Rambling Man

Posted by Jen Lavery, Fri 11 Mar 2011

Mark Thomas tells us about his experiences in the West Bank

Comedian and activist Mark Thomas has been famed over the years for his politically-motivated stunts, including posing as an arms dealer, creating a ‘People’s Manifesto’ based on audience suggestions and being awarded the Guinness World Record for Most Protests Held in One Day. But even he has had to draw the line on occasion. “I wanted to get a pedalo and ride it into Guantanamo Bay,” he says, laughing. “That one I was advised against; by the Cuban Ambassador, actually.”

Having missed out on the opportunity to spend the rest of his in life chained to a wall in an orange jumpsuit, he will instead be returning to the MGICF with a new show. So what’s Mark got in store for us this time? “It’s a musical romp. Rambling the Wall – The Musical. A show-stopping number involving lame hotpants and high-kicking rambling boots.”

Before you fully digest that image, we should tell you Mark made that bit up. “Actually, me and a cameraman set out to walk the length of the barrier on the West Bank. The show is the story of what happened. People ask, ‘What was your intention?’ I say, ‘To get to the end. That’s what you do on a ramble.’ I went because I didn’t know enough about the situation and wanted to find out about it in an unconventional fashion.”

Some things he discovered were certainly unconventional: “There is this really insane love of Saddam Hussein in some places on the West Bank. You see statues and posters of him because he was seen as a hero; someone who stood up to Israel and the West and helped Palestinians. I’d constantly get into arguments with people. We got into a cab one day and Yunes, our translator –who was a very funny man – said: ‘You must not say anything bad about Saddam Hussein.’ So I started saying, ‘Yeah, he helped the Palestinians, yeah, he fought the Israelis, but…’ And he stopped me and said, ‘No, that’s the name of our driver.’ And this guy turns round and says: ‘Hello, I am Saddam Hussein.’”

Brushes with dead despots aside, the trip certainly had its share of ups and downs, although there was one ‘up’ Mark would have rather avoided… “I put on weight! I walked fucking hundreds of miles and put on fucking weight! That’s down to Palestinian hospitality. It was just constant – wherever you walk, people stop you and bring you food. They want you to have coffee; they want you to stay for lunch and for tea. Seriously though, it was lovely. They are unbelievably generous.”

Mark’s two festival dates are expected to sell out well in advance. So who would he recommend to those not quick enough to get tickets? “People should go and see Josie Long, she’s genuinely fantastic. And Kevin Eldon is a fucking class act, he’s really great.”

Caroline Rhea: “Doing stand-up comedy is like doing therapy”

Posted by Jen Lavery, Tue 08 Mar 2011

Comedian Caroline Rhea caught up with The Skinny ahead of her Glasgow Comedy Festival appearance to remind us that there’s more to her act than being Sabrina’s aunt.

While some comedians see live stand-up as ‘paying their dues’ before hooking a TV contract, Caroline Rhea is in no rush to leave the circuit behind. And that’s not just the drugs talking.

“Sorry, I have a terrible cough and I’m so fully medicated right now I feel like I’m outside my body watching someone else give an interview. So – is it scary going back to live performance after being in a TV studio? No, it’s quite the opposite actually. It’s much less scary to me to be on stage than to be in front of a camera. Doing stand-up comedy is like doing therapy. It’s a great way to deal with everything. It’s like having your own talk show where there are no cameras, so you don’t really have to worry. You can say whatever you want on stage.”

While she may still be best known to some from TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Rhea brought her stand-up to last year’s Edinburgh Festival, garnering a five star review from The Scotsman. But some fans found Aunt Hilda hard to let go of…

“I think the boy who came up to me and said: ‘You were in my wank bank when I was 15.’ would have to be a favourite. I really didn’t know what he meant at first or why Costaki [Economopoulos, Rhea’s fiancé and fellow stand-up] was laughing so much beside me. Then I was horrified, then flattered, in that order. Then there was the girl who put me in a headlock to take me over to see her friends cos I was on Sabrina.”

Rhea also tells me that if there were one time she regretted that she couldn’t become an alcoholic, it was probably in Scotland. It’s this revelation which may have helped translating her stand-up to audiences in our fair nation.

“I did trim a lot of the fat as I went and just left the stuff Scottish people could relate to. Basically anything pertaining to sex and alcohol, we were all on the same page with those two. By the time I was done I had completely transformed my act. It was a great learning experience – what references people get, what they don’t get, what’s universal, what’s not”

However, it’s unlikely Rhea will make it back to the Fringe this year due to a pretty full schedule across the pond. So get tickets to her Glasgow Comedy Festival show quick, as this is a definite sell-out.

And for all you Sabrina fans out there… “If I could do the one magic trick? Painless plastic surgery. That would be good.”

Craig Campbell comes to The Stand Edinburgh
Funnyman kicks off Scottish leg of tour this week

By Jen Lavery
 
07 March 2011 06:25 GMT
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Canadian comedian Craig Campbell has just kicked off the first Scottish leg of his solo tour, which will be coming to The Stand Edinburgh this Tuesday 8th March.

While the reputation of ‘difficult’ audiences north of the border still strikes fear into the heart of many an act, Campbell is relishing the prospect of returning to his roots.

“I’m all packed and ready to roll! I’m a Canadian of Scottish descent and have a lot of Scottish family. With the number of years I’ve been visiting Scotland and doing shows in Scotland, I’ve actually found that Scottish audiences tend to be more warm and welcoming than most.”

While Campbell says having Scottish relatives meant his childhood in Canada “probably wasn’t that different to a childhood in Scotland” further investigation shows aspects were arguably even MORE Scottish than the average.

“My mother was a sword-dancer at home so she’d have all the kit on and be dancin’ around swords on the floor.”

He continues in an eerily convincing Scots brogue: “Then of course when the relatives would come to visit the accent was somewhat unmistakeable!”

While some acts on the circuit only ‘real’ Caledonian experience of is Edinburgh during August, Campbell, fresh from his stint supporting Frankie Boyle on his national tour, will be taking his brand of funny up and down the country.

“I really like going to Scotland!” he says, laughing, “and I’m really excited by the parts of it that seem to put other comedians off, like Dunoon or Inverness or Dunfermline or the more outlying bits like Aberdeen. I want to go to the most extreme areas possible!

“In fact I tried to get up to the Orkneys and the Shetlands, but I believe the venues weren’t able to accommodate it on this trip. Now that I’m extending the tour into November I’m hoping I can get some even more outrageous places.”

Campbell’s track record shows something of a penchant for taking his act off the beaten track, having travelled to Kazakhstan to perform a short tour in 2008. While he describes the trip as “a rocky ride – but a great rocky ride” one incident sticks in his mind more than most, when Campbell found himself on an extremely decrepit plane with his translator.

“There was no safety announcement, no emergency exits and people standing in the aisles. This struck me pretty hard as I am actually also a trained pilot.”

But even when they finally got back to solid ground, the shocks weren’t quite over.

“This Russian kid who’s our translator walks through the main doors of the airport with me and then wanders over to some guy dressed head to toe in khaki, hands him a bag and comes walking back to me. I said ‘Do you know that guy?’ and he said no. So there’s kind of a pause and then I say ‘Did you just take a bag on the plane FOR A GUY YOU DON’T KNOW?!’ and he just looked at me, laughed and said ‘You don’t know what it’s like here. If you knew how funny your worries sound to me you just wouldn’t say anything. We’re on our own here now.’ Honestly, my jaw was on the FLOOR.”

Luckily Campbell discovered he was not the only ‘stranger in a strange land’.

“Turns out, there’s lots of Scots and Canadians in Kazakhstan, in the weird way that you run into them together where ever there’s oil around. Need some rig workers? I know where you can get ‘em! Scotland and Canada!”

Craig Campbell Live will be at The Stand Edinburgh this Tuesday 8th March. www.craigcampbelltour.com

The Cameo Cinema – catering to all since 1914
Proudly independent since 1914, catch a flick at one of the hotspots of Edinburgh’s pulsing arts scene

By Jen Lavery
 
15 February 2011 12:20 GMT
The Cameo Cinema is one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland and a must visit for any genuine film fan. Situated in Tollcross, the cinema boasts many of its original fixtures and fittings including ornamental plasterwork and velvet curtains that slide across the screen as the main feature begins.

While funds are being raised for refurbishment, the cinema’s 2006 upgrade to a Class B conservation status protects the interior from further change. The money raised will be used to give the toilets a much needed modernisation.

First opening its doors as the King’s Cinema in 1914, the movie theatre was re-named in 1949 by new owner Jim Poole, who intended to make the cinema the first and only venue in Edinburgh to show foreign-language films, a title it held on to until the opening of The Filmhouse 30 years later.

The Cameo continues to offer rare chances to see some of the best current foreign-language and independent films. The Sunday matinee double-bills, free to members, provide opportunities to see great films you may have missed on the big screen first time round. And it’s not all ‘art-house’ – more mainstream movies also play on the cinema’s three screens.

Students can join the ‘Slackers Club’ and get invites to special screenings – absolutely free.

The Cameo gives new meaning to BYOB – Bring Your Own Baby! Parents who love movies needn’t worry about finding a babysitter with The Cameo’s ‘Big Scream’ showings. These special performances have low-level auditorium lighting and access to baby-changing facilities and there’s no need for embarrassment or concern if your ‘little star’ decides to add their own soundtrack.

There are also Autism Friendly screenings with soft lighting and lowered volume, as many autistic people can find the standard cinema experience overwhelming. Customers attending these screenings are also permitted to chat and move around the auditorium, and all tickets are offered at a reduced rate.

So go check out Edinburgh’s best cinema. You’ll be in good company – over the years The Cameo has been visited by screen legends such as Quentin Tarantino, Orson Welles, Danny Boyle, Cary Grant, Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor and Charlize Theron.

Tom Stade at The Stand Comedy Club
Canadian comedian performing at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh this evening

By Jen Lavery
 
15 February 2011 12:22 GMT

Canadian comedian Tom Stade Pic: Trudy Stade

As anyone who has worked in comedy will tell you, the level of bitchiness between acts can often rival the girl’s toilet at a school disco. But one name that I have never seen raise anything other than smiles, is Tom Stade.

The term ‘comedian’s comedian’ is often used to refer to an act fiercely beloved by their peers, but whom audiences perhaps don’t always ‘get’. However, over the years Tom has amassed plenty of fans both in audiences and backstage.

The Canadian émigré, who now lives in Edinburgh, will no doubt be recognisable to many of you from TV shows such as Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Nights, Dave’s One Night Stand and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

But unless you’ve seen him live, you ain’t seen nothing. While he’s never one to shy away from controversy, you just can’t help getting caught up in his effortless charm and unbelievable capacity to find the funny in any situation.

Not convinced? Maybe this’ll help: I once saw Tom start questioning a man in the front row of a show about why his wife wasn’t with him that evening. The reason turned out to be… because she had died. Recently. Suddenly. And his friends had brought him out to a comedy club in an attempt to “cheer him up and take his mind off things”.

Now, for the vast majority of acts, this would have signalled the need for a comedic U-turn of epic proportions. Not our Tom. A moment I will remember until my own dying day: “She’s dead? Did YOU kill her?”

Not only did Tom continue to talk to the man for the majority of the show, but he had him and his friends in absolute stitches.

So get tickets if you can for Tom Stade Live, tonight at The Stand Comedy Club Edinburgh. Doors 7.30pm. It’s £10, but get in quick as the show is about to sell out.