The Stand Comedy Club
Encyclopedia
The Stand Comedy Club are three stand-up comedy
venues in the cities of Edinburgh
, Glasgow
and Newcastle upon Tyne
.
The Stand Comedy Club has two venues in the UK, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which were originally set up by owners Tommy Sheppard and Jane Mackay. The Edinburgh venue was established in 1995, in a small bar basement in the city’s Old Town, and the Glasgow venue was opened in 2000 located in the basement of an old secondary school in Woodlands
in the West End of the city.
The Stand runs live stand-up comedy shows every night of the week in both venues, with a programme of contemporary comedy from Scottish and international comedians. They also stage weekly open mic nights; Monday night in Edinburgh and Tuesday night in Glasgow.
The Stand Comedy Club has a mailing list of 22,000 people. In 2009 10,000 tickets were sold to events between both the Glasgow and Edinburgh venues and roughly 600 acts a year are performed at these clubs every year. Between the two clubs an average of 1600 tickets are sold to events every week.
In April 1997 Tommy Sheppard and Jane Mackay formed "Salt 'n' Sauce Promotions Ltd" to develop the club on a commercial basis. After two and a half years of moving around and staging shows in different pubs the club finally settled and moved into a new purpose built venue on the edge of the city's New Town.
The Edinburgh club now stages up to ten shows per week and with its connection with the Edinburgh Festival fringe it is the fourth largest comedy venue in the world's largest arts festival.
on 27 October 2011. The Stand invested £750,000 in fitting out the basement venue, part of the former Waygood complex. The venue has banned stag
and hen parties
, and talking during the performances, in an effort to minimise disruptive behaviour so that the comedians can concentrate upon delivering their crafted material.
As the Newcastle club prepared to open, Tommy Sheppard said that he expects this venue to be the last Stand to open.
Since becoming a year round dedicated comedy club, The Stand has been a platform for comedians such as Billy Connolly
, Fred MacAulay, Kevin Bridges
, Des Clarke and Frankie Boyle
.
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
venues in the cities of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
History
The Stand hosted its first regular club night on Thursday 21st September 1995: seven people came and the total box office was £22.The Stand Comedy Club has two venues in the UK, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which were originally set up by owners Tommy Sheppard and Jane Mackay. The Edinburgh venue was established in 1995, in a small bar basement in the city’s Old Town, and the Glasgow venue was opened in 2000 located in the basement of an old secondary school in Woodlands
Woodlands, Glasgow
Woodlands is a residential area in the west-end of Glasgow, Scotland. It is to the east of Hillhead, the south of Maryhill and Woodside, and north of the city's Park District...
in the West End of the city.
The Stand runs live stand-up comedy shows every night of the week in both venues, with a programme of contemporary comedy from Scottish and international comedians. They also stage weekly open mic nights; Monday night in Edinburgh and Tuesday night in Glasgow.
The Stand Comedy Club has a mailing list of 22,000 people. In 2009 10,000 tickets were sold to events between both the Glasgow and Edinburgh venues and roughly 600 acts a year are performed at these clubs every year. Between the two clubs an average of 1600 tickets are sold to events every week.
Edinburgh Club
The club ran weekly when first set up in 1996 and relied on local talent. Expansion meant a second weekly venue in the Moscow Bar and by the end of 1997 a third weekly club had started.In April 1997 Tommy Sheppard and Jane Mackay formed "Salt 'n' Sauce Promotions Ltd" to develop the club on a commercial basis. After two and a half years of moving around and staging shows in different pubs the club finally settled and moved into a new purpose built venue on the edge of the city's New Town.
The Edinburgh club now stages up to ten shows per week and with its connection with the Edinburgh Festival fringe it is the fourth largest comedy venue in the world's largest arts festival.
Glasgow Club
The Glasgow club opened on the 14th April 2000. Initially the Glasgow club was open five nights a week and by 2003 it had joined the Edinburgh club opening 7 nights a week.Newcastle club
The Stand opened a venue in High Bridge in Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
on 27 October 2011. The Stand invested £750,000 in fitting out the basement venue, part of the former Waygood complex. The venue has banned stag
Bachelor party
A bachelor party , also known as a stag party, stag night or stag do , a bull's party , or a buck's party or buck's night , is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom" or merely to spend...
and hen parties
Hen party
A bachelorette party, hen party, hen night or hen do, is a party held for a woman who is about to be married. The terms hen party or hen night are common in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while the terms hens party or hens night are common in Australia and New Zealand, and the term bachelorette...
, and talking during the performances, in an effort to minimise disruptive behaviour so that the comedians can concentrate upon delivering their crafted material.
As the Newcastle club prepared to open, Tommy Sheppard said that he expects this venue to be the last Stand to open.
Famous acts
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
, Fred MacAulay, Kevin Bridges
Kevin Bridges
Kevin Bridges is a Scottish stand-up comedian.-Stand-up:Bridges began performing on the small stage when he left school shortly after his 17th birthday, doing stand-up comedy gigs at The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow and then throughout the UK. At 18 he reached the final of Channel 5's So you think...
, Des Clarke and Frankie Boyle
Frankie Boyle
Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a British comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic, often controversial sense of humour...
.