Has the north-east of Scotland ever seen a week for comedy performances as strong as this one?
Next Wednesday alone, there are three difficult options for audiences to choose between, with two of the biggest names in the business – Romesh Ranganathan and Michael McIntyre – taking to stages in Aberdeen, and exciting young Glaswegian talent Larry Dean and friends also playing a gig in the city.
Meanwhile the week also sees Frankie Boyle, a familiar UK-wide talent with an especially devout home support in Scotland, also make an Aberdeen appearance.
Even the fiercest stand-up fan can’t see them all, so to help with the decision let’s delve more deeply into what each has to offer.
Frankie Boyle: Lap of Shame
One of Glasgow’s finest comedy exports, which puts him in great company indeed, Boyle’s finely-honed live show hits the sweet spot between delivering exactly what the audience expects, and leaving them on the edge of their seat guessing just how brutal it’s going to get. One reviewer in the Guardian described Lap of Shame as “breathtakingly rude jokes and thought-provoking ghastliness”, which is exactly what a fan of Frankie’s is here for.
Most familiar to TV viewers as a Mock the Week panellist and as the host of Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, in the last couple of years he’s pivoted towards podcasting and his debut crime novel Meantime. In fact, he suggested at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that writing novels is what he would prefer to do with the rest of his life, cutting out the need to ever travel. Is this Lap of Shame the last lap of victory? Either way, it comes highly recommended.
- Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen, Monday May 13, thetivolitheatre.com, aberdeenperformingarts.com
Romesh Ranganathan: Hustle
Hustle is a good name for Romesh Ranganathan’s new stand-up show, because the ubiquitous comedian has taken over the mantle previously worn by Richard Ayoade and David Mitchell of ‘television star most willing to make hay while the sun shines’. In other words he’s everywhere, from hosting The Weakest Link to his own shows The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and The Ranganation, to starring in the sitcom Avoidance, to panel shows, books and, oh yeah, let’s not forget stand-up.
Reports of Hustle suggest it looks at all of this from an indirect angle, in that world-weary everyperson Romesh has hit middle age and he’s wondering just what all the effort to hustle our way through life is really for. Beware: the shows promises “no real answers”. You’ll have to make do with some masterful observational material instead.
- Music Hall, Aberdeen, Tuesday 14 and Wednesday May 15, aberdeenperformingarts.com
Michael McIntyre: Macnificent
Speaking of comedians who are everywhere… what Michael McIntyre currently is, Romash Ranganathan must surely dream of one day being. Once a superstar of the stand-up firmament, he’s made an extraordinary successful transfer to being prime-time light entertainment host. His gameshow format The Wheel has been a hit in the UK and sold around the world.
Except does every stand-up star really hope to move into a career like McIntyre’s? Their bank balance does, of course, but where he was once a bright, edgy young thing of the medium, now the work he’s known for on The Wheel and Big Show borders on the cosy.
In which case, getting back on the horse with Macnificent – his first original stand-up tour since 2018 – will hopefully give anyone who loved McIntyre’s work then or now the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the breathless, frantic energy of the live set which made his name.
- P&J Live, Aberdeen, Wednesday May 15, pandjlive.com
The Big Fat Comedy Show with Larry Dean
Presented by Edinburgh Fringe Festival venue and comedy specialists the Gilded Balloon, this show is a multi-performer package tour of some of Scotland’s finest emerging talent. Hosted by Jay Lafferty, it also features Stephen Buchanan, Lauren Pattison and Sam Lake, and is – anyone who’s been paying close attention to this round-up might notice – the best place to see women in stand-up this week.
Yet making Glasgow’s Larry Dean headliner is undeniable. Finding fame with a show about coming out to his Catholic family, he’s been Scottish Comedian of the Year, and has appeared on Live at the Apollo and Mock the Week, a route to big success which has been well-trodden by those appearing elsewhere in Aberdeen tonight.
- Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen, Wednesday May 15, thetivolitheatre.com, aberdeenperformingarts.com
