Comedy festival to tackle Scottish independence

Stand up comedian Susan Calman. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Rory Bremner, who featured in a BBC documentary poking fun at Scotland’s politicians last year, will be among the home-grown acts attempting to turn the wrangling over Scotland’s future into laughs during the Glasgow Comedy Festival.

The impressionist is one of the main headliners for the 12th annual event, along with Ruby Wax, Sarah Millican, Miranda Hart and Sean Hughes.

Other big-name Scottish comics in the line-up include Susan Calman, Jerry Sadowitz, Fred MacAulay, Des Clarke, Craig Hill, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Janey Godley, Dorothy Paul, Raymond Mearns and Bruce Morton.

Acts from around the Commonwealth will also be heading to Glasgow to tie in with its hosting of the sporting extravaganza in the summer.

Edinburgh-born Bremner, who recently called for the injection of more humour into the referendum campaign, will be appearing in a one-man show at the Citizens Theatre during the event, dubbed “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Referendum.”

Other referendum-related shows include “State of Scotland”, which will see Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister take their audience on a whistle-top tour of the Scottish political landscape.

And politicians and comics will rub shoulders on the panel of a debate which will see the rival campaigns challenge to win the argument through the power of laughter.

Festival director Tommy Sheppard said: “My own feeling is that the majority of comedians in Scotland, in common with other artists who have declared so far, are in favour of independence, but there is definitely not a consensus on the issue.

“It may well be that somebody will be able to come up with a great polemic rant in favour of independence. But I suppose the real humour will lie in trying to cast a satirical eye over the whole debate as it unfolds this year.

“This is a big year for Glasgow, and for Scotland, and I’m delighted to say that we’ve got a programme which steps up to the mark.”

The comedy festival, which features some 416 shows staged across 46 venues, including the new Hydro arena, is billed as the biggest event of its kind in Europe.

Sheppard said this year’s festival was notable for the fact that half the headline performers are female for the first time.

Other star attractions, apart from Millican and Hart, who play the Clyde Auditorium and Hydro respectively, including Bridget Christie, winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award at last year’s Fringe, Australian comic Pam Ann, hit English cabaret trio Fascinating Aida and American stand-up Janeane Garofalo.

Sheppard added: “We didn’t deliberately set out to have as many female headliners as we do, but that’s the way it’s turned out. We’ve always tried to have a good number of women in the programme, but the quality at the highest level is now very strong, and this is the first time in our 12 years that women are equally represented, which people can actually see on our programme cover.

“I’m not going to say that’s the case right through the programme, but they are very well represented. When half our audiences are women, that has to be a good thing.”

Gordon Matheson, chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and leader of the city council, said: “The Glasgow International Comedy Festival has become synonymous with showcasing an eclectic line-up of the best comedians from home and abroad, and celebrating Glasgow’s enviable reputation as a must-visit destination.

“We’re well used to staging major events with huge international appeal and we’re looking forward to a festival that will be the biggest on record, with an incredible 416 shows across 46 Glasgow venues.

“As host city for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, we’re now firmly in the global spotlight and the calibre of this year’s festival programme is a strong reflection of this - it’s diverse, bold and packed with talent from across the Commonwealth and beyond; reinforcing why Glasgow is a city of choice for the top acts on the international comedy circuit.”

Paul Bush, chief operating officer at national events agency EventScotland, said: “Scotland is the perfect stage for events, and Glasgow’s International Comedy Festival continues to grow from strength to strength. It is now a key event in Glasgow’s live entertainment calendar.”