Kevin Bridges: The Stand reacts to show hecklers

Kevin Bridges' gig at the Edinburgh Playhouse was interrupted by 'rude, incoherent' heckling. Picture: Contributed

In a column piece in The Scotsman, Ferguson said that the audience at the Edinburgh Playhouse: “...was the worst-behaved... I had witnessed in 25 years of attending events.

“I was actually amazed Bridges did not walk off in disgust well before he hastily wrapped up his show.”

A stalwart of the Edinburgh comedy circuit, The Stand took to Facebook in response to debunk five of the most common excuses people give for heckling.

Their list is as follows:

1. “Comedians love hecklers! It helps them out!”

Trust us, as people who’ve been working with comedians for decades - they don’t love hecklers. They love being able to do the material they’ve spent ages preparing, without your mate Dave who thinks he’s hysterical, drunkenly interrupting every punchline.

2. “It’s part of the job and they need to get used to it.”

It’s not actually part of the job – a comedian’s job is to make people laugh, not to deal with your mate Dave, who thinks he’s hysterical, drunkenly interrupting every punchline.

3. “The comedian was going with it, they didn’t seem bothered.”

When someone keeps interrupting your gig, more often than not (especially in a small room), you have to acknowledge them. This does not mean you welcome them. And even if the comedian doesn’t seem overly annoyed, this is usually because they do not wish to break from their stage persona, and/or risk alienating the rest of the audience by appearing angry. It can throw a whole show off and make people uncomfortable, even if the majority of them also wished your mate Dave, who thinks he’s hysterical, would stop drunkenly interrupting every punchline.

4.“They’re not funny anyway!”

That’s a matter of opinion, pal. Just because you aren’t enjoying something does not mean everyone else in the room is also not enjoying it. Comedy is very subjective, and what one person thinks is the funniest thing ever, can leave others cold. And even if someone is dying on their hole, why kick them while they’re down? Why prolong the agony? Let them finish up and get off, someone you like better might be coming on next.

5. “I’ve paid my money, I’ll heckle if I want.”

Everyone else in this room has paid their money too – and they paid it to listen to comedians, not your mate Dave, who thinks he is hysterical, drunkenly interrupting every punchline.

They completed the list by adding their own sober warning: “Don’t be that person.”