 Geoff and I have been singing the praises of
The Stand Comedy Club Edinburgh, since we bit the bullet and went to see
something out-with August and their Edinburgh Fringe Festival offerings.
We frequently comment on the great value you get as well as the
variety on offer after all they are open every night and most
lunchtimes.
We both wanted to see Irish comedian Janice
Phayre who is on the bill from Thursday 29th November to
Saturday 1st December unfortunately due to previous
commitments we were unable to go then. We decided to experience for our
first time ‘Red Raw’.
‘Red Raw’ is billed as “A weekly showcase
for absolute beginners”, they present at least 8 new acts with an
experienced compere (in this case Janice Phayre) and a headliner making
sure you get much more than your moneys worth. Entrance fee in both
Edinburgh on Mondays and Glasgow on Tuesdays is the extortionate price
of £2!! What can you expect to get for £2 these days? Certainly not
two and a half hours quality entertainment, ok some of the acts may not
be to your personal taste but something is  sure to appeal to everyone.
We were really spoiled on Monday 26th
November as we had not only Janice Phayre as compere and SAJ as
headliner we had 11 other performers.
Prior to Monday we were aware of Janice and the second from top
act ‘The Wee Man’ but had not heard of any of the others. The
quality varied vastly from act to act, some seeming totally at home in
front of this audience whilst others much more nervous.
It was also good to see that three of the acts
were female Joon Broon, Kirsty Moss and Jay Lafferty, although all three
have their individual niches both Kirsty and Jay have material I found
extremely clever and very funny I look forward to seeing much more of
them both. So much so I would definitely go out of my way to see them if
I could.
The men in order of appearance were; Jason
Arnstien, Adeel Amini, Barry McDonald, Jon Dixon, Sean Grant, Mike
Manera, Jimmy McGhie, The Wee Man and finally SAJ. The Wee Man had the
advantage in that we had seen him before and although the material was
exactly the same the audience reactions were different. Both Geoff and I
hope he has more and different material on hand as this really talented
kid deserves to go far. Although SAJ was the top act I personally would
have liked to have seen more from Barry McDonald, this Glaswegian hit
the funny spot several times and it will be really interesting to see
how much more he has in his locker. Jon Dixon’s stock of one-liners,
although interesting and funny for a short period could he cover a 20
minute set? I am just not sure. Sean Grant, on the other hand, like
fellow Glaswegian Barry McDonald, seems to have a wealth of material he
also seems totally at home on stage. Jimmy McGhie a studenty type who
brought his own fan club up from Newcastle was also fairly good but once
again I wonder if he has enough in his armoury to last him during a
longer set.
As you can see this is definitely an evening
not to be beaten on value for money, £2 for 13 acts and you can get
some of the fabulous chef Mathew’s food to keep you going. For further
information of both Edinburgh and Glasgow’s listings go to www.thestand.co.uk
also if you have always wanted to try standup for your self call
0131 558 7373 or email eva@thestand.co.uk
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