Comedy, Kirstin Innes

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

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…

Alternative Fringe hubs: The Forest Cafe

Edinburgh's soon-to-be dearly-departed hippy haven

Name: The Forest Café Occupation: Leader of the resistance, home of Edinburgh’s true creative spirit. Resembles: A glorious, shambolic cluster of plants, art, rugs, hippies and graffiti, spread across several rooms. What’s on there, then?

Josh Howie: I am a Dick

Patchy quest with dodgy material

Somewhere along the way, the idea that a sniggering comedian telling a badly-timed rape gag is the vanguard of free speech has become entrenched. It’s not: it’s just lazy. There’s nothing ‘edgy’ about Josh Howie’s material in I am a Dick; he’s not…

Rich Fulcher: Tiny Acts of Rebellion

Surreal and sedate show from the rambunctious Mighty Boosher

It’s an uncharacteristically laid-back, practically sedate show from the normally rambunctious Mighty Boosher, and anyone turning up to see him unleash a full-force storm might feel a little disappointed. That said, Fulcher’s still a class act even when…

Clare Plested: Vegas, Jesus and Me

Nicely observed impressions from adorable lady but comedy is patchy

Ever wondered what Barbara Nice was like at 30? Clad in animal print and great shoes, the glam half of Fringe vets Plested and Brown tells the story of her Vegas wedding, aided by a big box of Pinot. It’s touching, with some nicely observed impressions…

Ahir Shah

Stars in his eyes

Ahir Shah is 20, pretty, and used to write for Skins while his posters for Astrology have him doe-eyed and holding a sparkler. These may well be the chief reasons that he’s not quite reaching the audience his set needs. Not to worry, though, as he’s got…

Election night entertainment - Unholyrood, Welcome to the Hotel Caledonia and Mayfesto: It's a Dead Liberty!

Perhaps injustices tend to hit harder when they’re closer to home; perhaps there’s just more meat; but periods of Tory government do tend to galvanize our satirists and create new relevance for political theatre. You may have noticed stirrings…

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

Our annual chart of the top creatives in Scotland

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.

Stephen Carlin - The Podium of Unconditional Surrender

Airdrie wag refuses to get tough

Stephen Carlin doesn’t really have a thing, in that way that comedians do: no identifying features. In his comedy, not facially. Facially he’s easy to spot: good-looking, with the sort of dastardly moustache that you rather suspect is going to turn out…

Comedy in the Dark

Well-known comics pitched out of their comfort zones

Selling a show as ‘comedy in the dark’? Make sure the lights go out completely in the venue. It’s interesting to see well-known comics pitched out of their comfort zones (Shappi Khorsandi discovering how much of her routine was based on facial comedy…

Neighbourhoods, Watch! - Leith Festival Vs West End Festival

In the East corner, Edinburgh’s Leith Festival! In the West corner, Glasgow’s West End Festival! Kirstin Innes adjudicates the battle of the community fests.

Plagiarismo

Pootles along without anything much happening

An hour in Richard DeDomenici’s affable company is always entertaining, but this short lecture on artistic plagiarism is among the weakest of his works. He gets easy laughs from clips pointing out various pop music thefts, but the show pootles along…

The Bratchpieces reinvent the Humble Pub Quiz

A family guffaw

The Bratchpieces (faither Mark, elder brother David, or Bratchy and younger scion Neil, aka the Wee Man) are well known as Scotland’s only family of stand up comedians. They’ve taken that dynamic into all-Bratchpiece stage shows, and the logical next…

Refugee Week Scotland 2009 - Fugee la la

Given the recent increase in profile of the BNP across Scotland, the timing and focus of this year’s country-wide Refugee Week are particularly prescient. This year, the multi-artform festival which aims to raise awareness of the issues facing and…

In the loop - Glasgow Subway Festival

It’s every commuter’s nightmare, being stuck in a carriage with a talker. The sort of person who simply won’t respect your need to privacy in a public place; who wants to ask you questions, or worse, tell you all about their life. Or worse. Try and…

The Hot 100 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…

Eilidh MacAskill and her Daily Ukulele Ceilidh

MUSICAL COMEDY Last year, one woman set out on an incredible journey. There were tears. There was laughter. There were good times, there were bad, and there were midnight YouTube sessions in front of her cat, as Eilidh MacAskill attempted a…

Glasgow Subway Festival

The weather might, finally, be on the upswing, but underground at the Clockwork Orange they’re praying for rain. The first ever Glasgow Subway festival is set to launch on Thursday 10 April, with a packed out programme of events, underground in the…

Merchant City Festival

We’re not short of festivals in Scotland. The months between April and November have begun to feel like one of those Strip the Willows that happen at particularly drunken céilidhs, where you’re buffeted relentlessly between cultural events and…

How to make it

Talent. Britain has it, apparently. The airwaves are clogged up with fat, snaking queues of wannabes who want nothing in life so much as the chance to perform an acapella version of Rihanna’s Umbrella to a sneering celebrity panel. We’re in an age where…

Free stuff

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This year’s Fringe programme includes a record 304 free shows. Kirstin Innes looks at why a lack of funds needn’t hinder your Festival experience

Day Jobs

Look closely at your electrician. Can you imagine him as a rock singer? What about your cleaning lady - does she exhibit in the Saatchi Gallery? And have you heard the one about the aerobics teacher with a book deal? For a variety of (mostly financial…