Aberdeen International Comedy Festival 2022 Programme

COMEDY IS BACK BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!

Adrian Watson

Executive

Aberdeen Inspired are delighted to be bringing the Aberdeen International Comedy Festival back to the city after a three year break. From international stars like David O’ Doherty and Milton Jones, popular TV legends such as Jack Dee and Harry Hill to a host of rising stars from this year’s Fringe and festival favourites such as Craig Hill and Daniel Sloss you’ll be spoilt for choice when making your festival plans.

Now in its fifth full year the aim of the festival is not only to bring the biggest and best local, national and international comedians to the city for all to enjoy but to enrich the city’s cultural offering and showcase Aberdeen as a great place to visit, work and live. There is so much to enjoy, see and do in the city centre and Aberdeen Inspired are proud to bring festivals like this, the award winning street art festival Nuart Aberdeen and popular Aberdeen Restaurant Week to the city as part of our portfolio of work to help with the recovery and reinvention of Aberdeen city centre.

Thanks go to our venue business partners and volunteers who help make the festival possible. This year we are delighted to welcome Original 106 on board as a festival sponsor, have received valuable support and funding from Event Scotland’s National Events Programme and are delighted to be working with Mental Health Aberdeen as our charity partner.

The past few years have been challenging for us all and I encourage you to get out and about with friends and family, support your city and the businesses in the city centre and enjoy a few laughs at this year’s comedy festival.

What sort of a prick is living their best life? Richard Branson? Elon Musk? The Dalai Lama? Yes, the Dalai Lama is a prick – all will be explained in the show. Most folk aren’t living their best lives. I didn’t expect to still be on Tinder in my 30s, co-parenting a Labrador, with half an arse… but here I am. I’m Living My 2nd Best Life and it’s not too shabby! Join me! ‘Formidable, fearless… delivered as if she’s making it up on the spot’ (TheWeeReview.com). ‘…a star on the rise’. (BBC Comedy

Now as

raised

Jojo

funeral

at The Apollo star and host of Celebs on The Farm, Stephen Bailey is a comedian raised on a Manchester council estate. Recently he was told that he is not sophisticated - and he was wearing bronzer. Tired of being the “GBF” (Gay Best Friend), Stephen’s mission is to simply be Stephen. This preview unpacks his life as a queer, working-class man in a predominately straight, middleclass man’s world onstage. Stephen’s TV credits include Celebs on The Farm (C5), Roast Battle (Comedy Central) and Celebrity Coach Trip (E4). “A superstar in the making” (British Comedy Guide)

FESTIVAL

of Scotland’s best comedy talent, all solo headline acts in their own right, getting together to bring the funny to Aberdeen

two nights

SUTHERLAND - ★★★★ ‘Go and see this show.. you will laugh.. a LOT’ (The Scotsman), ‘A performer the audience could have watched all night!’ (The Herald)

BURNS - Brilliant stand-up from one of the fastest rising new stars of Scottish comedy. ‘Absolutely cracking...

material with fantastic

Stand)

WAUGH - Whimsical, superb left of field punchlines. ‘Smart, witty... very

award-winning stand-up, podcaster

author, Kai has toured live in 53 countries with Daniel Sloss, opening in massive theatres and arenas all over the world. ‘Side-splittingly funny!’ (Fest). ‘Downright hilarious!’ (Edinburgh Evening News). ‘Phenomenally funny… A fantastic comic who is smart, funny, and crude all at once… perpetually upbeat charisma, pushing and pulling us between laughter and empathy… Not to be missed… Brilliant!’ (BroadwayBaby.com) Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult.

Justin is back: still funny, yet middle-aged. A brand-new show that may contain: yoga, getting older, Madonna, shoplifters, Labradoodles, middle-aged cyclists, The Menopause, running, hating football fans but loving football, not drinking, funerals, ‘Is tapas a rip off?’, Captain Tom, Droylsden, the environment, self-improvement, ruining a sexual position, electric car charging spots used by doggers, nursery graduation, horses, Stig lookalikes, home-cooked food but not in your own home, the odd advantages of fundamental religions, the gym, shop-door etiquette. And he’s got a new suit. Come, it’ll be fun. **** (Chortle.co.uk)

Star of Scottish BAFTA winning comedy show, ‘Scot Squad’, Chris Forbes is also a threetime Scottish Comedy Award winner. He has gigged all over the world from America to Australia and has supported Kevin Bridges on tour. Chris is also known for creating a series of sketches as his comedy character ‘Duncan, The Other Murray Brother’ with legendary tennis Mum, Judy.

Liam Farrelly - 2021 Winner Scottish Comedian of the Year Award, finalist 2021 BBC New Comedy Award. ‘Frighteningly young... Natural storytelling talent... Impressive stuff’ (Beyond The Joke) Kai Humphries has toured to 53 countries with Daniel Sloss, co-host of hit podcast “Sloss and Humphries on the Road” ‘Absolutely brilliant... Pure stand-up... Fabulous’ ★★★★ (Voice Mag)

£27.50 18+

What do you do when the end of the world finally comes, and you realise it’s going to happen slowly and boringly? No sudden meteor strike. No thrilling zombie apocalypse. Just a gradual ebbing away of life as you knew it. Do you fight to fix things before it gets worse, dedicating your life to making the world around you better? Nah! You close your curtains, hunker down and fixate over something shitty someone said to you in 2019.

The longest reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner is back with a new show! As seen on Late Night Mash (Dave), Jonathan Ross’s Comedy Club (ITV), and his own stand up special coming soon to Amazon Prime

“He’s happier than ever and raring to go” (The Mirror).

Hammersmith is the world’s leading gangsta rapper to ever emerge from the ghetto of middle class west London.

presents his sell-out Edinburgh Fringe show

Man 8 Mile” - an hour of improvised comedy raps based entirely on your suggestions. You’ll leave astounded! Tour Support for Jason Manford and John Bishop.

world’s leading freestyle rapper’

with human

Edinburgh Comedy Award

Brennan has forgotten how to

it

be amazing with crowds

being on Live At The Apollo, Celebrity Coach Trip and Joe Lycett’s tour. But the world just seems a bit much. Sounds really lockdowny doesn’t it? But it’s not. Promise.

a show about you, me and all the others.

there is a future, I really hope that this is what its comedy looks like.”

mental

made her

some of the defining moments in

seen on BBC’s Comedy

Scot Squad and Breaking

support for Stewart Francis

Ilyaz. Krystal’s ‘sharp cynicism’ and

Talent

of

Citizen of Nowhere Daliso

finally back out of the house

a stage with a new show of the

sharpest look at life. It’s fair to

that

didn’t go to plan for Daliso… but he performed online daily

of viewers, and this is your chance to see what this master of satire

sharp one-liners and well

OLGA KOCH: JUST FRIENDS

Star of Mock the Week, QI, Late Night Mash, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and Edinburgh’s Best Newcomer nominee, Olga Koch brings you the rollercoaster romcom you aren’t tall enough to ride. Strap in. Directed by Charlie Dinkin.

gleefully obscene comedy’ (Guardian). ‘One of the most charismatic comedians on the circuit” **** (Telegraph).

sold out shows at the Glasgow International

Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe and now Darren Connell is taking his first ever tour on the road!

veteran of the stand-up comedy circuit, he’s starred in pantomimes, got his own podcast and you may even recognise him as the loveable Bobby Muir from hit TV show Scot Squad. But make no mistake, he is a stand-up comedian…dark, funny, and close to the bone.

natural with a real bright future’ Kevin Bridges.

- Contains language which might offend.

PAUL MCDANIEL

returns to the Festival

Magic Eye! Expect some kick-ass,

magic and a whole load of nonsense

balloons)! This brand-new show from the mind of Magic Gareth is here

make you laugh, and experience

theatre and magic at its very best!

biggest balloon in the world, Magic Eye

a rip-roaring family show

games, gifts and a whole load of silly, this show is guaranteed

with glee!

McDaniel is a Northern Irish comedian with an act that CHORTLE described as “an explicable delight”. Richard Pulsford is the UK Pun Championships Winner 2022 and Scottish Comedian of the Year Runnerup 2021 expect clever one-liners and light-hearted jokes from these two.

in demand as a tour support act, supporting the likes of Larry Dean, Tom Stade and Gary Meikle on multiple national tours he doubles up with Glasgae’s Weegie Boys to deliver fastpaced, witty comedy with clever twists on Scottish culture.

Grainger gigs for major comedy

across the UK, including The Stand Comedy Club, Gilded Balloon and Monkey Barrel Comedy. He was featured on BBC’s ‘4 Extra Stands Up’ and has gigged internationally in Berlin, Germany and Cape Town, South Africa. He has performed in sell-out Edinburgh Fringe shows, is usually featured on “Best Of Scottish Comedy” bills and has been handpicked for multiple ‘Kevin Bridges And Friends’ shows across the UK.

and well thought out comedy”

One-liners and light-hearted jokes from the UK Pun Championships Winner 2022 and Scottish Comedian of the Year Runner-up 2021. In the Top Ten Jokes Edinburgh Fringe 2019 and 2021. “Reminiscent of a master like Milton Jones, his (justified) confidence in his material shone through” - The Scotsman “You’re sure to want to try to remember some of his gags to pass off as your own later… It’s a light-hearted session that delivers exactly what’s promised: a LOT of gags.” – Chortle

sketches to songs aboot aw things Scottish, come see these wee comical dafties dae what they dae best. Fast-paced, witty comedy with clever twists on Scottish culture. The Weegie Boys will have ye creasing yersel from start to finish. Starring Gregor Mackay, Conor Hardie and Elliot Hanigan, the boys have proved an undeniable hit both on stage and online having sold out Edinburgh Fringe runs and performed as headline club acts along with producing numerous viral sketches via BBC Scotland. So Weegie Hink Ae That?

Scotland’s favourite Kilty Pleasure is delighted to be bringing his eagerlyawaited hilarious new show to the festival. Renowned world-wide for his cheeky, irreverent and uproarious live comedy, Craig’s tours are firmly established as one of the best nights out around. His razor-sharp wit and unsurpassed audience rapport have seen him perform all over Europe, Australia (including the Sydney Opera House) all over Scotland as well as south of the border and even a season of shows off-Broadway in New York. Craig’s shows are hugely popular for a good reason - get ready for an outrageously high-octane night of fantastic laughs. Book now! ‘Flat-out hilarious... I’ve not heard a room laugh so long and hard... There isn’t anyone better at working a crowd... the audience was in absolute paroxysms of laughter... Genuinely funny’ ★★★★★ (Mirror)

After 21 years and 224 days Hal’s back being single. But it’s all going to be fine. Instead of getting the therapy he clearly needs, he’s made a cracking show about it. He’s lost enough weight to almost get his wedding ring off and, while he may be flying solo, he’s far from alone; he’s got his grown-up daughters, his dogs and his divorce lawyer. The fickle finger of fate has turned Hal’s life upside down but he’s sticking a finger right back at it.

he’s ever been’ ***** (Times).

MCPHERSON: THE PEESH

man. One Mission. Is it possible? No, not really. Milton reveals the truth about being an international spy, before being given a disappointing new identity which forced him to appear on Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo. But this is also a love story with the twist, or even a really bad sprain. Just gloriously daft nonsense or is there a deeper meaning? Every man has his price. Sainsburys, where good food costs less.

fast, absurd and very Funny” (Radio Times).

SARA PASCOE: SUCCESS STORY

4 FEBRUARY

- 7.30pm

star of BBC2 stand-up special Sara Pascoe: LadsLadsLads is back with a brand-new stand-up show! Sara is a highly acclaimed

and actor.

JON RICHARDSON: THE KNITWIT

GARY FAULDS LIVE: FRONTIER

OCTOBER 2023 - 8pm

is Gary’s journey into the unknown, will we find aliens on mars?

I get Turkey teeth?

I ever call my Mum’s boyfriend Da? Can I do yoga

WHERE TO FIND OUR SHOWS

The festival takes place at a number of different venues in Aberdeen City Centre. Some of the venues are wheelchair accessible but if you have any queries then just get in touch by emailing us at: comedy@aberdeeninspired.com

Check out our partner offers on our website for any special festival deals on places to eat, drink, shop and stay.

First Aberdeen are our travel partner and a fantastic travel offer will be emailed to all comedy festival ticket holders a few days before the festival begins, keep an eye on your inbox.

To view the festival venue / bus map visit:

For public transport information visit:

Aberdeen Arts Centre, 33 King Street, AB24 5AA ATIK, 5 Bridge Pl, AB11 6HZ

Belmont Filmhouse, 49 Belmont St, AB10 1JS Books and Beans, 22 Belmont St, AB10 1JH Cheerz, 2 Exchange St, AB11 6PH Douglas Hotel, 43-45 Market Street, AB11 5EL The Lemon Tree, 5 West North Street, AB24 5AT Mac’s Pizzeria, 38 Union Street, AB10 1BD McGinty’s Meal an’ Ale, 504 Union Street, AB10 1TT Music Hall, Union Street, AB10 1QS OGV Podium, 7 Windmill Brae, AB11 6HU O’Neills Aberdeen, 9-10 Back Wynd, AB10 1JN

Park Inn by Radisson, 1 Justice Mill Lane, AB11 6EQ Siberia, 9 Belmont St, AB10 1JR Spin, 10 Littlejohn Street, AB10 1FG

The Blue Lamp, 121 Gallowgate, AB25 1BU

The Glentanar Bar, 39 Holburn Street, AB10 6BS

The Priory, 33 Belmont St, AB10 1JS

The Tunnels, Carnegie’s Brae, AB10 1BF

The Tivoli Theatre, Guild Street, AB11 6NB

Union Kirk, 333 Union St, AB11 6BS

Under The Hammer, 11 N Silver St, AB10 1RJ Unit 51, Carnegie’s Brae, AB10 1WD

TICKET INFORMATION

Your tickets are precious, treat them like cash and put them in a safe place. Once purchased tickets are non-refundable. Unless stated all prices include the booking fee and / or transaction fee.

It’s best to buy your tickets in advance, any unsold tickets these will be available for purchase at the festival venue 30 minutes ahead of the show start time.

Collect from Aberdeen Performing Arts box office at the Music Hall or His Majesty’s Theatre, Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm, until 3 hours before the show start time. After this all uncollected tickets will be available for collection at the festival venue 30 minutes ahead of the show start time. ID may be required to be shown with print at home ticket purchases which will be scanned on entry.

Want a good seat? Then it’s best to turn up early as seats are unreserved (unless otherwise stated on your ticket). Please bring ID for entry to venues with an over 18 licence and in case of any ticketing queries. We have made every effort to give age appropriate guidance for all festival shows however Aberdeen Inspired cannot take any responsibility for the content of performances. Sometimes show line-ups change and where possible we will advise you in advance. Please be respectful to others in the audience as we’d hate to have to ask you to leave and note that photography, sound and video recording are not allowed during any performance.

Groups are welcome and discounts are available for groups of 8+. To find out email: comedy@aberdeeninspired.com

Information in this programme correct at time of going to print, latest information can be found online.

is calling

THE CROWD THE SETLIST The energy   The spine-tingle  THE ANTICIPATION THE ATMOSPHERE THE CHORUS THE SING-A-LONG THE ELECTRICITY THE ENCORE THE BUZZ IS BACK