Comedy and Henry Northmore

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Beckett & Smith

A genuinely funny 60 minutes

24 Aug 2011

There are some real gems on the free festival circuit, but picking the wheat from the chaff can be a daunting prospect. Split into two halves, Ian Smith launches this hour of stand up with some freewheeling rambling that at times cuts close to the bone…

Terry Alderton

Hour of clever nonsense with surreal twist

16 Aug 2011

Taking many of the conventions of old-school stand-up – observational comedy, sound effects, impressions – Alderton gives them a surreal twist before cramming them all together. Some punchlines get lost in the chaos of songs, dancing and vocal mimicry…

Isy Suttie

Cute, clever music-based comedy from the Peep Show comedian

15 Aug 2011

Best known as geek love interest Dobby from Peep Show, Suttie’s an incredibly likeable comedian. Mixing stand-up and music, her humour has a real warmth and the stuttering love story of Pearl and Dave that runs through the show is instantly engaging and…

Sink or Spin

It’s gym life, but not as we know it

8 Aug 2011

A site-specific comedy set in the working environs of Bannatyne’s Health Club (you even need to fill in a fitness form as you enter), you’ll spend most of Sink or Spin on an exercise bike in a distinctly unusual class taught by Clement (Donal Coonan).

The Last Circus

Spanish black comedy/horror takes in clowns, circus life, love and madness

20 Jun 2011

The latest film from writer/director Alex de la Iglesia is almost unclassifiable, a love story, a black comedy and horror all apply and as fans of his Accion Mutante (1992) will know it’s this glorious mess of ideas and themes that makes for such a…

The Hot 100 2010 - Mark Millar, Kevin Bridges and Alasdair Gray take top 3 spots

Our annual chart of the people from Scotland being interesting, successful and creative

16 Dec 2010

The Hot 100 is a list of Scots who’ve made a sizeable creative splash in 2010. It includes musicians, artists, writers, actors, fashion designers, technological innovators, shop owners, festival directors, record label heads and one mad cyclist.

Will Ferrell interview

Land of the Lost star talk us through time

6 Nov 2009

With the DVD release of Land of the Lost imminent, Will Ferrell explains his role in this fast-paced, action adventure comedy.

Axis of Awesome

Spoof songs and inter-band bickering aplenty

18 Aug 2009

Rock comedy, spoof songs and inter-band bickering aplenty here from this Aussie trio. Some of it is dumb fun and some is pretty sharp, particularly their destruction of the ‘four chords’ that make up so many pop songs. Unfortunately, the music itself…

One Man Lord of the Rings

Baffling speeded-up Middle Earth affair

10 Aug 2009

The trend for cutting down and speeding up plays/films/text kicked off with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and Charlie Ross is a veteran of the subgenre, having brought his One Man Star Wars to the Fringe in previous years. Dressed in a sturdy boiler…

Various: Wasted No. 2

9 Jul 2009

More Scottish comic action this fortnight with the second issue of Wasted. Much like its predecessor Northern Lightz, it’s a cheeky selection of comedy shorts from names such as Alan Grant, John Wagner, Jamie Grant, Alan Kerr, Curt Sibling, Dave…

Lesbian Vampire Killers

19 Mar 2009

HORROR/COMEDY Overexposure can shoot down even the most promising career. And while Mathew Horne and James Corden aren’t quite there yet, they need to be careful. A double act since their award-winning Gavin & Stacey, for their first big screen…

Bruce Campbell

19 Feb 2009

Bruce Campbell is the unrepentant king of the Bs. He burst onto the world of underground cinema with the ultimate video nasty, The Evil Dead, its two sequels, and a string of unacknowledged classics such as Maniac Cop, Crimewave, Man With the Screaming…

Interview: Anvil - The Story of Anvil

19 Feb 2009

You’ve probably never heard of Anvil, but bands like Slayer, Metallica and Anthrax all cite them as an influence. Formed by childhood friends Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow (on vocals and guitar) and drummer Robb Reiner in 1973, they tasted success in the 80s with…

The Hot 100 2008

11 Dec 2008

It’s been a helluva year. 2008 has been a time of significant global change, socially, politically and culturally, with Scotland no exception. So here, for your delectation, is The List’s pick of the 100 people, places and things that rocked our world…

Postal

13 Nov 2008

(18) 99min Uwe Boll doesn’t have the best pedigree in movies; he’s an oft-reviled director with a penchant for videogame adaptations. But one thing you can’t dismiss is that the man has balls, and Postal is flat-out in-your-face nutzoid entertainment…

Justin Moorhouse

7 Aug 2008

Moorhouse is not after any more friends. In fact he's bored of the poking and social contrivance of Facebook and its ilk; he wants to cut his 681 'friends' down to just the five who really mean something, that make a difference, that you can rely on. So…

Bloodbath at the House of Death

17 Jul 2008

HORROR COMEDY (15) 88min (Nucleus DVD retail) Out of print for over 20 years, Kenny Everett’s one and only feature film has been unearthed. This horror spoof features a group of monks bumping off anyone who dares enter Headstone Manor, and stars…

X-Files Improv

23 Aug 2007

Dean Haglund played Langley, a nerdy conspiracy theorist, in the phenomenally successful X-Files. He uses the show’s format as a structure for some improv staples, and if you’ve ever seen Whose Line is it Anyway? you’ll know the drill. It’s not original…

Steve Hughes

16 Aug 2007

Former drummer in death metal band Slaughter Lord, what Hughes means by ‘Heavy Metal Comedy’ is an outsider attitude and refusal to compromise (much like his heroes Slayer). This is hard-edged satire covering everything from Australia’s treatment of the…