This was my third consecutive GICF Gala in a row, and it had probably the strongest line-up so far.
As we were also seeing Alan Davies later on, we decided to make a day of it. We put the dogs into the kennels and arranged to have lunch with Colette and her hubby at The Griffen before the show. Graeme brought the car, not realising that on-street parking is no longer free on a Sunday, and ended up parking quite a distance away, on the other side of Charing Cross. He'll not do that again (they got soaked in the rain on the walk back after the show).
The lunch was good. We pencilled in doing it again next year.
 |
| The view from our seats. |
The Gala opened with Almost Angelic, the musical double act of Karen Dunbar and Tom Urie, kicking the show off in absurd style. Afterwards, a stagehand pushed the platform, upon which Tom sat with his keyboard, across the stage the long way, much to Karen's mock despair. They'll be supporting Marti Pellow at the Bandstand in August.
Susie McCabe, as MC, wasted no time bringing on the first act, Des Clarke. My wife and I had heard his jokes just a few days ago, including one which I repeated at lunch, but they were still funny.
Next up was Susan Riddell, using PowerPoint to illustrate the material relating to her arrest for (alleged) "Terrorism and Malicious Mischief". She's barred from Edinburgh because of this as part of her bail conditions and has to accept a 7 pm curfew. I'd love to hear the full story sometime.
Fred MacAulay referenced one of Susan's jokes at the start of his five minutes. A veteran of the circuit, Fred gave a quality set. I'm looking forward to seeing him on tour later in the year (though I'll probably skip his show with Ally McCoist at the Armadillo at those ticket prices).
Amanda Dwyer gave a funny but low-energy set, winning over the audience.
Likewise, the relatively unknown Ifrah Qureshi gave a fine set, demonstrating a good eye for comedy, especially at her family's expense.
Connor Burns closed the first half, giving a performance that ably demonstrated why he sold out five shows at the King's this festival. He is a comedy superstar in the making.
After the break, Susie gave us five minutes on why her life has been a struggle of late, with a heart attack being the least of her worries.
Then, Karen Dunbar returned for a routine about when she and her sister (God rest her soul) went to the social club and got hammered on the new beverage, White Lightning. Another newcomer, Jack Brookmyre, looked uncomfortable in his sleeveless denim jacket patched with heavy metal band logos, but gave a confident performance. His voice work is great, especially his Gollum. One to look out for.
Stuart Mitchell's star is in the ascendant. He's always reliable for a laugh and today was no exception.
Mhairi Black was a more left-field choice, but she showed that her transition from politics to stand-up has gone well. She has always been a great speaker and knows how to be funny.
Rosco McClelland closed the stand-up element of the Gala, confident enough to throw in some new material which didn't hit the mark.
After this, the Festival Director, Krista MacDonald, gave an impassioned speech about celebrating Scottish comedy, a flourishing circuit despite the lack of financial support it receives as an art form. She introduced a video highlighting each nominee for the Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award. They were:
Top Row:
Amanda Dwyer (Comedian)
Chris Conway (Comedy promoter/owner of Blackfriars of Bell Street)
Kate Hammer (Comedian)
Second Row:
Kim Blythe (Comedian)
Susan Riddell (Comedian)
Zara Gladman (Writer, performer, and producer)
The winner was: Amanda Dwyer.
Accepting the award, she was speechless, never believing she would win, already assuming that her Material Girl partner, Susan Riddell, would take it. The short video they showed of Billy Connolly praising Amanda was quite emotional. He looked unwell, with the moonface of a man possibly on long-term steroids. Lovely to hear his voice, though.
As we departed the room, the audience was treated to an airing of his 1974 song, "If It Wasnae for Your Wellies". Lovely to hear that again.
All the nominees were present, even those not performing (Chris Conway isn't a comedian). I know this because an old friend of mine managed to snatch selfies with each individual at the stage door. It's his thing.
Outside, we spotted Dave Flynn, producer of Breaking the News. My wife wouldn't let me take his picture. She didn't need to say it. She just gave me a look.
Ticket Price: £24.10 x2 + Transaction Fee £3.95 = £52.15 from ATG Tickets.
No comments:
Post a Comment