Glasgow Comedy Festival 2017: The Rising Stars

Five Glasgow shows featuring emerging artists from the comedy scene

Feature by Ben Venables | 01 Mar 2017

Gareth Waugh: Honestly?

Rumour is that Waugh's debut show has the kind of ambitious premise befitting a comedian with his obvious talent. Using one microphone he'll present a set based on truth, but with another mic he'll fib with all the aplomb of Horatio Nelson holding a telescope up to his blind eye. Always impressive live and in his appearances on Scot Squad and Breaking the News, Waugh has a bright future ahead of him. 

YesBar, 10 Mar, 7.15pm, £8/£7

Rahul Kohli: Not So Chubby, Brown

Kohli's spirited and slick delivery has already scooped him 'Top of the Bill' at the prestigious NATYS final this year. Notably won by Stewart Lee in 1990, it's one of the few comedy competitions with a long history for establishing new acts. A worthy winner, his first hour – Newcastle Brown Male – was enough to place him in our Best of the Fringe 2016

YesBar, 18 Mar, 6pm, £8/£7

Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: The Boyd with a Thorn in His Side

It's a storytelling style which suggests Macarthur-Boyd is a comedian on the ascent. He has an eye for characterisation and setting, populating his set with vivid details of encounters in his portion of Glasgow. This show combines the rise of far-right politics with a break-up and we expect the personal and political to be housed seamlessly with confident delivery. 

The Stand Comedy Club, 23 Mar, 7.30pm, £8/£7

Hari Sriskantha: Clown Atlas

Since winning the Edinburgh Revue stand-up championship in 2013, we've looked forward to physicist-turned-comedian Sriskantha's full debut hour. Here's a chance to catch a first glimpse of the current work-in-progress in which the BBC Radio Award finalist sets out to atomise the subject of happiness.

McPhabbs, 25 Mar, 5pm, £4/£3

CHUNKS: World's Strongest Chunks 2017

Watching CHUNKS sometimes recalls the birth of alternative-cabaret in the 1980s. Like Alexei Sayle and co, some of this growing and talented collective could make it big, although we have no idea if the world is ready for, or attuned to, CHUNKS' off-beat style. Furthermore, we have even less an idea of who among their number will blast into a comedy stratosphere when opportunities are sparse and random.

But, if you want to see alternative comedy now – and support a movement which has done so much to encourage new acts to try different ideas on stage – then check out their full programme of events at McPhabbs across the festival. And, as far as the Glasgow Comedy Festival goes, this final night celebrates the only comedy award that matters.

Watch as the backslapping and backstabbing of a normal award ceremony gives way as each individual CHUNK attempts to emerge victorious with the most coveted prize of all – the Golden Pineapple. It's a last hurrah like no other. 

McPhabbs, 26 Mar, 9.30pm, £1/PWYW

http://glasgowcomedyfestival.com