MY COMEDY HERO LEO KEARSE Rotunda, Glasgow, Fri 15 & Sat 16 Jun, Fri 13 & Sat 14 Jul; Enterteasement, Glasgow, Sat 16 Jun; Espionage, Edinburgh, Thu 2–Sun 26 Aug Scotland has a culture of ‘if it’s funny, say it’. The first comic I saw epitomised this. On our annual trip out of the hills and into the city, my mum took me and my brother to see Jerry Sadowitz. We loved it. Here was a man who said everything we’d been told was wrong. His jokes were hilarious and criminally offensive and he had total disdain for the audience. As he spat abuse, the first few rows would get soaked in his saliva which left his hair hanging like a wet spaniel’s ears. Then he’d pull out a super soaker that he’d been spitting into all week and spray the room. We begged mum to take us back. And get us vaccinated against hepatitis. Despite a couple of TV shows, his career never moved beyond a cult following. Perhaps mainstream audiences just weren’t ready for a man raping a blow-up doll and calling Mandela ‘a cunt’. I randomly saw Jerry behind the counter in a magic shop in Clerkenwell and asked him if he worked there to keep his roots in with the magic community. He told me: ‘I work here because I don’t make enough money doing stand-up you stupid cunt’. Unfortunately, in recent years he’s attracted the wrong crowd: people who heckle him for racism and misogyny. This impairs the enjoyment of his shows for me and the skinheads in the audience. People ask how he gets away with such hateful bile: is he so pitiable that everywhere he punches is up? I think it’s just because he’s funny. (As told to Brian Donaldson)
STAND-UP ALISON SPITTLE The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 24 Jun
It seems like a good time to be a worrier. There’s plenty to fret about in the news and all around us, but while this can result in a heap of raw material for a comedian, it must be a little wearing being concerned so much of the time. With Worrier Princess, Irish comic Alison Spittle tracks her anxiety back to her roots. ‘My mum would ring me up with her favourite game, “guess who’s dead?” I’d name members of my village who have health difficulties until I guessed the correct one. We then critiqued funerals like people do with holiday destinations.’ It’s a curious coincidence that Jon Richardson has a new show on Dave called Ultimate Worrier.
Is Spittle aware of this spot of serendipity? ‘I now worry that people might think I’ve stolen his pun. I hope Jon doesn’t think that. I'm now worrying about the wrath of Jon Richardson.’
Spittle will appear in Glasgow ahead of a full run of Worrier Princess at the Gilded Balloon during August. She’s keen to point out that it’s not all about furrowed brows and troubled minds. ‘It’s a fun show. I like laughing at my worries as, truthfully, that’s the way I deal with them. You have to analyse them to see why they’re funny and it takes away the mystery and comforts me. Writing jokes about my worries is like finding out the mechanics of a magic trick that scares me.’ (Brian Donaldson)
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LOCAL LAUGHS NATALIE SWEENEY
THE SCOTTISH STAND-UP AND SKETCH SHOW MEMBER HAS A GO AT OUR Q&A
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another comedian so far? I found the advice Sarah Millican gives really useful about only giving yourself until noon the next day to over-think a bad gig or get over-excited about a good gig before putting it behind you and concentrating on the next one. Which comedian’s memoir would you recommend to someone? I have read several memoirs: I love hearing about how comedians got to where they are today. I particularly enjoyed Tina Fey’s Bossypants. She has been so successful in her career and I really admire her, so it’s amazing to hear her stories of breaking into comedy and the struggles at the beginning. It inspires you to keep going. And it’s hilarious.
What’s the one thing (good or bad) you remember about your very first stand-up gig? My first gig was not a comedy night, it was an 80th birthday party! I was not aware of this before I turned up. I arrived and was introduced by an Elvis impersonator before the buffet. I got no reaction and was heckled by one woman shouting out a ‘knock knock’ joke! It was bad because it was embarrassing, but it was good because it gave me a kick that I need to work hard and keep going even when you have a bad experience. I also learned never to interrupt a pensioner from a buffet! ■ Natalie Sweeney plays The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 1 Jul and is part of The Scrubbers sketch show at Millport Comedy Festival, Fri 20 Jul. See more of this Q&A at list.co.uk/ comedy
78 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2018 78 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018