Behind the Mic: Good Egg Comedy

Tell me about Good Egg Comedy...
We started running gigs officially in 2021. Initially we called ourselves 'Scotland’s Best Comedians' as we book, in our view, the best comedians in the country. We changed to Good Egg Comedy as it was just too much pressure to be brilliant every show – something comic Stuart McPherson said and made me realise I’d never considered that.

And Good Egg gives us so many opportunities for wordplay – hence Cracking New Jokes (a new material night) in Edinburgh, and Cracking Good Jokes (because the jokes are written already and good – mostly!) in Glasgow.

How did it come about?
I say we, it is just me, but I get lots of help from family. One son does most of the act booking; another son works on imagery and social media; and my wife keeps us going in the background. I have another younger son, who is 12. Would be unethical to have him involved at this age. Soon though. And our pal Sarah is a great help too.

What was the first Good Egg Comedy night like?
It was at Gael & Grain in Glasgow, and went…fine. Nothing spectacular. Apart from when Susan Riddell did a bit about bald guys, and an audience member walked out. Her reason? Her Dad was bald.

Who would be on your dream lineup?
We’ve been lucky to have 'everyone' on one of our shows at some point! Daniel Sloss and Danny Bhoy regularly do our Edinburgh gig. Mark Nelson and Susie McCabe have done our Glasgow ones too.

I’d love to convince Kevin Bridges to make an appearance, so hopefully saying it out loud makes that come true.

What's been your best takeaway from running Good Egg Comedy?
We only book acts we like spending time with. That’s the ethos of Good Egg – we like to think we are Good Egg, and only want to work with people we like. Not just for their comedy, but good people to hang out with.

That was advice I took from a friend outside of comedy. He said, “Being your own boss means you don’t have to speak to people who are not a positive addition to your life.” Life’s too short to deal with people who aren’t nice.

Who on the comedy scene should we look out for?
Eva Peroni’s going to be a big star. We have a running joke when I’m hosting a gig and she’s performing; I always whisper “that was shit” when she’s smashing it, but I think I’m just jealous of her natural abilities and charisma.

What’s the funniest gig you've seen?
At one of our old afternoon shows in Glasgow, the standout performance was the aforementioned Susie McCabe. Never seen an audience react like that before, and have never seen anyone get a standing ovation like that too. Proper awe-inspiring!

What can make Scottish comedy even better?
More people taking chances and going out of their comfort zones. The days of doing the same tired 20 minutes for 10+ years are gone: this generation wants fresh content all the time. Let’s see more amazing comedians writing brand new hours every couple of years, really encourage the new acts bringing interesting stuff to the table and support them, especially working-class talent.

What's next for Good Egg Comedy?
Good Egg Comedy programme just under a third of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival every year. There are 180 shows across our four venues this year.

Some of these are our weekend compilation shows, but the ones I’m looking forward to most are our Friday Afternoon Comedy, The Comedy Experiment, and the 'Bairn' shows: Bring Yer Bairn, for parents and babies, and Bring Yer (Big) Bairn, for P7-S4 kids and their adults. We want to give kids their first grown-up taste of live entertainment, get them out of their bedrooms and off their phones.

All of them, apart from The Comedy Experiment, are afternoon shows and target so many different demographics. They’re perfect for people who don’t fancy the hassle of being out late, want a good laugh, and get home in time for The Chase.

My friend Kathleen Hughes and I are also doing a comedy walking tour of Glasgow. I’m a historical tour guide by day, and Kathleen is a mad history buff, so together we’ve written a wonderfully funny tour around the city.

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Bring Yer Bairn Comedy, Van Winkle, Glasgow, 12, 19 & 26 Mar, 12:30pm, £10
Glasgow's History: A Comedy Walking Tour, Duke of Wellington Statue, Queen Street, Glasgow, 13, 20 & 27 Mar, 10am, £15
Friday Afternoon Comedy, Gael & Grain, Glasgow, 13, 20 & 27 Mar, 12:30pm/2:30pm/4:30pm, £10
The Comedy Experiment, The Flying Duck, Glasgow, 26 Mar, 8:30pm, £12
Bring Yer (Big) Bairn Comedy, Gael & Grain, Glasgow, 14, 21 & 28 Mar, 12:15pm, £10

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