The inner sanctum of north-east comedy group Flying Pig Productions was not quite what I expected it to be.
The hilarious troupe of men and women have become loved across the north-east for their signature brand of Doric humour, witty lyrics and quippy banter since they first began performing in 1998. So, naturally, I expected barely tamed “piggery-jokery” and gales of laughter to be issuing forth as I approached their rehearsal room within Aberdeen’s St Mark’s Church.
But what I saw on entering were seven solemn faces huddled around a table, heads down in deep concentration as they thumbed painstakingly through the script of their latest sure-to-be-smash-hit stage show, Finzean in the Rain.
“That was a post-Inverurie autopsy,” explained Greg Gordon as we left the powwow to do the interview.
By day, Greg is an academic of Aberdeen University’s law department, but outside of work he’s one of the Flying Pigs’ chief scriptwriters. In recent years, he has stepped onstage alongside his fellow-actors, who include John Hardie, Craig Pike and Susan Gordon – all stalwarts of the north-east comedy scene.
Not as gruesome as it sounds, this “autopsy” was actually a dissection of a special preview performance the group did at Inverurie a few weeks back. It’s the third time they have done this, and it has proved to be an excellent opportunity to gauge the temperature of their material before releasing it wholesale at HM Theatre, where they will roll out a 10-performance run from tonight.
Greg said that making changes to a script which has taken up to a year to write is a “careful balancing act”. While brevity is good for establishing a speedy pace, there’s a danger of cutting too much.
“You have to remember you’re storytelling. If you cut to the laughs, you miss parts of the story,” he said.
“You want to keep the laughs close together, without doing damage to the overall story. And that’s the value of the out-of-town preview. You can spot what’s not working.”
So, with sketches tweaked and script humming like a fine-tuned engine, what can audiences expect from the show this time round? Greg promised that regular features of the Flying Pigs’ repertoire will get stage time, such as the couthy observations of Archie and Davie, the wholly unbelievable adventures of Maurice the Liar, and the ongoing tribulations of Mither and Faither.
But time has also been set aside for some new characters to be introduced.
“That’s because more people are writing than was the case before,” said Greg.
“It’s good, because it brings a new element. I could write two-and-a-half-hours of material on my own, but it becomes a bit ‘samey’. With a broader range of writers, you get a broader range of perspectives.”
In fact, some of the new characters – namely football pundit Cava Kenny, and council spokesman Ron Cluny – spring directly from the pages of the Press and Journal in the tongue-in-cheek column Greg and the Pigs write each week.
Writing for the paper, just like writing for their popular radio sketch show and a one-off TV pilot (both under the name Desperate Fishwives), has been a learning curve for them. Greg noted candidly that he’s not sure he “would have commissioned us for a TV series based on the pilot”. But he’s being modest: trying to distill their material into a 30-minute segment must have been a nigh-impossible task.
But it has all been a valuable experience, he added. And it has kept the Pig flag waving in the two-year periods between stage appearances.
“There’s still a lot of people out there in the north-east who don’t know who we are. And every time we go to a new medium, we reach new people. So the column’s been good for that, and establishing a regular connection with the audience,” said Greg.
But no matter what medium they are writing for, the Pigs are sure to get the crowds roaring with laughter. After all, the north-east is fertile ground for comedy gold.
“It’s a dry sense of humour. It’s not the fast-paced patter that you get on the west coast, but it does have its own identity and feel,” said Greg.
“There’s a musicality to the north-east language and a lyricism. And what we’re trying to do is celebrate the region, rather than poke fun at it.”
Flying Pig Productions’ latest stage show, Finzean in the Rain, will be at HM Theatre, Aberdeen, from today until Saturday, November 16. Tickets are available from www.aberdeenperforming arts.com or by calling the box office on 01224 641122.
Name: Tanya Bezique Soutar (I ken it’s a silly middle name; my mither thocht it wis exotic. I’m thinking of changing it to something mair sensible. Like Jaegerbomb).
Age: Surprisingly young for a mither of three bairns (Jayden, Kenzie and wee Beyonce-Shanice).
Job: Minker TV Gold host, and lifestyle guru. But dinna tell naeb’dy; I’m still claiming income support.
Where are you from? I was raised, born and conceived in the Broadsword Bar in Tilly. The pool table’s niver been the same since.
What do you like about living in the north-east? I like the varied climate. I widnae like tae bide somewye that hid year-roon temperate weather. Fan wid ye iver get tae show aff your winter wardrobe? At least in Aiberdeen ye can rock your thermals and Ugg boots 11 months of the year. And ye can ayewis pit on your strappy top fan ye’re heading tae Belmont Street on your Christmas night oot.
What do you not like? I dinna like folk that are up themsels, folk that hae an inflated opinion of their ane importance an’ folk that think they’re big. And the steps up tae Union Street fae the Green. I’m nae Sir Edmund Hillary.
Describe the region in three words: Full of potential. Aye, potential snogs in The Priory, Espionage and Tiger Tiger.
Where is your favourite holiday destination and why? I’ve only iver been tae Magaluf with the girls, but I dae love it. We eence hid a cocktail that came in a fishbowl, A fishbowl! Hiv ye iver seen the like? Only in Magaluf. And Marbs, Ayia Napa and Malia apparently.
What makes you laugh? Onybody fa thinks Union Square is the trendiest shopping mall in toon. We a’ ken it’s really the Aiberdeen Market.
And cry? My pal Big Sheila telt me tae say “peelin’ onions”. I dinna ken how. The closest I iver get tae an onion is fan I march past them in Lidl’s on my wye tae the Pot Noodles.
Your idea of a great night out? I’ve ayewis loved the dodgems. Though I learned efter a particularly heavy session doon at Cafe Continental a few years back that ye really hiv tae ging on them afore ye get steaming. Fit a sotter!