WAS THE PLEASANCE RIGHT TO CANCEL SECOND SADOWICZ SHOW?
THE ROW over the cancellation of Jerry Sadowwitz’s show at the EICC shows no sign of abating.
The Pleasance axed the controversial comedian’s second show at the venue following ‘an unprecedented number of complaints’. Pleasance chose not to go into further detail about the nature of the complaints following the cancellation of Saturday’s show.
However in a further statement yesterday, The Pleasance said: “We became immediately aware of content that was considered, among other things, extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny.
“We will not associate with content which attacks people’s dignity and the language used on stage was, in our view, completely unacceptable.
“We received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond.”
Late last night Sadowicz, a veteran of the Edinburgh Fringe, tweeted:
It seems incredible that any Scottish venue would be unaware of the controversial nature of Jerry Sadowitz’s humour – it’s not as if he’s some unknown new kid on the block!
If Jerry Sadowitz’s brand of humour ‘does not align with the Pleasance values’ why book him in the first place?
I suppose it was inevitable. Drama, tragedy,comedy and farce; the trials and tribulations of the once-mighty Rangers FC have been turned into a stage musical.
Successful producer/director partnership Kelvin Grove and George Square will bring their latest production to the Fringe this August.
‘Rangers – The Musical’ boasts an impressive cast. Comedy wrestler Grado – (‘catchphrase: ‘it’s yersel’!’) – (pictured above) will play lead role William ‘Billy’ Boyne and Glenda Govan, his feisty wee love interest, will be played by feisty wee newcomer Easter House. Billy’s mouthy maw will be played, of course, by Elaine C Smith and Billy ‘Big Yin’ Connolly is to play Billy’s wicked (i.e. Celtic-supporting) stepfather.
It’s understood Tim Healy has been cast as Mike Ashley, Christopher Biggins will play Sir Alex Ferguson and Johnny Vegas will play Ally McCoist. Les Dennis is Craig Whyte, Brian Blessed has been cast as King William of Orange and David Tennant will play a senior HMRC official. Jimmy Nail has been pencilled in to play Rangers latest star striker signing and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini plays his glamorous girlfriend. There are roles too for James Cosmo (the ghost of Bill Struth) and Wee Jimmy Krankie, who will play broadcaster Chick Young.
The cast of Scottish soap River City are also heavily involved in the all-star production. The Shieldinch team are going to be busy: they play a flute band in the first act, fans on a supporters bus in the second – and during the ‘half-time’ interval they’ll be serving pies and bovril and leading the audience in some fine traditional songs from the bygone days of yore!
It’s a dream come true for actor Billy McElhaney (pictured above, right), who plays Jimmy in the popular soap. “I’ve follow, followed the Teddy Bears since I was a laddie so this production is a real pleasure for me. When I read through the script I thought to myself: hullo, hullo … this is the Billy boy’s! I can’t wait for August – rehearsals are going well and it’s great to be working with Grado (catchphrase: ‘gaun yersel’!) again.”
Audiences will be delighted to see the return to the stage of popular 1980s game show host Jim Bowen (above), who has an all-too-brief walk-on part as His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The Bullseye funster quipped: “I must be the only cast member to have been alive when the original Rangers was formed! I don’t have too many lines to remember – well, just one: ‘you get nothing in his game for two in a bed’. The writers cut my other one ‘you can’t beat a bit of bully’ as they don’t want to offend anyone. So it’s not exactly hard work, but the pay is ridiculously generous – perfect for someone of my advancing years. Actually Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller were saying just the same thing the other day!”
Set in trendy west end bistro Bar Linhe, ‘Rangers – The Musical’ tells the story of young shipyard apprentice Billy Boyne. Young Billy, who is played by comic wrestler Grado (catchphrase ‘**** yersel’!). Billy lives for his football – until Glenda comes along. Inevitably, love blossoms and the happy couple save up to get married – but things are going downhill fast at Ibrox Park. Should young Billy keep saving for that dream home in Bearsden – or invest their life savings in shares to save his beloved Rangers?
Songs from the show include ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘Don’t Walk Away’, ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’, ‘Fog on the Tyne’ and that rousing, ever- popular showstopper ‘The ‘Tash My Father Wore’.
Speaking from his accountants’ office in the Cayman Islands, Mr Grove (above) said: “The Ibrox story is a tale that simply had to be told, and what better way than through the medium of drama, music and dance? This show has the lot – laughter, tears, great songs, court cases, everything.
“The original plan was to launch the show in London’s West End -we had a couple of prestigious venues lined up, but the bottlers pulled out at the last minute – so we’ve decided to take ‘Rangers’ to Edinburgh. It’s a bit of a gamble, as the snobs, poseurs and luvvies through there are not sure to ‘get’ the Glesca banter – but we’ll perfect it through there before bringing the show back to our dear green place, our spiritual home. And if no one likes us? We don’t care! And yes, of course everyone will get paid …”
Tickets, priced £16.90 (strictly cash only, preferably used notes – no concessions) go on sale soon. Don’t miss it!
‘It’s criminal, so it is’ – The Hun Currant Bun
“It’ll huv ye in stitches!” – The Daily Ranger
‘Mair twists and turns than a Davie Cooper mazy run’ – The Govan Gazette
A vacuum cleaner joke by Fringe favourite Tim Vine has been voted the funniest at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
For the first time in Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe’s seven-year history, the award has been presented to a previous winner. King of the one-liners Tim Vine has this year come top with nearly a fifth (19%) of respondents voting “I decided to sell my hoover… well it was just collecting dust” their funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Tim also triumphed in 2010 with: “I’ve just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I’ll tell you what, never again.”
Three female comedians also feature in this year’s Top 10 as jokes from Bec Hill, Ria Lina and Felicity Ward proved to tickle the nation’s funnybone, reflecting the overall reported 62% rise of women performing at this year’s Fringe.
In its mission to find the most hilarious one-liners, Dave enlisted the help of an expert panel of ten judges, consisting of the UK’s foremost comedy critics. They scoured venues at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe over a week to nominate their three favourite jokes. The shortlisted gags were then put anonymously to the public vote, with 2,000 Brits selecting those that they found the funniest.
Dave’s Top 10 Funniest Jokes from the Fringe Festival 2014
1. “I’ve decided to sell my hoover… well, it was just collecting dust.” – Tim Vine
2. “I’ve written a joke about a fat badger, but I couldn’t fit it into my set.” – Masai Graham
3. “Always leave them wanting more, my uncle used to say to me. Which is why he lost his job in disaster relief.” – Mark Watson
4. “I was given some Sudoku toilet paper. It didn’t work. You could only fill it in with number 1s and number 2s.” – Bec Hill
5. “I wanted to do a show about feminism. But my husband wouldn’t let me.” – Ria Lina
6. “Money can’t buy you happiness? Well, check this out, I bought myself a Happy Meal.” – Paul F Taylor
7. “Scotland had oil, but it’s running out thanks to all that deep frying.” – Scott Capurro
8=. “I forgot my inflatable Michael Gove, which is a shame ’cause halfway through he disappears up his own arsehole.” – Kevin Day
8=. “I’ve been married for 10 years, I haven’t made a decision for seven.” – Jason Cook
10. “This show is about perception and perspective. But it depends how you look at it.” – Felicity Ward
Dave’s first two-time winner and regular fixture on the Top 10 list, Tim Vine is a firmly established comedian whose rapid one-liners have helped him achieve great success in the world of comedy.
As well as sold out tours and best-selling DVDs, he has appeared on various TV shows including Not Going Out and Blandings. He first performed at the Fringe in 1993 and was awarded Best Newcomer in 1995. His current Edinburgh Fringe show, “Tim Timinee Tim Timinee Tim Tim To You,” is a sell-out success at the Pleasance Courtyard, and his first stand up tour in four years is also planned for next Spring.
On being awarded the top spot, Tim Vine said: “I’m a little bit surprised but very delighted. This is the second time I’ve won this award but I guess nobody loves a repeat more than Dave!”
Honourable mentions – These one-liners that just missed out on the top spots:
“I go to the kebab shop so much that when they call me boss in there it’s less a term of affection, more an economic reality.” – Ed Gamble
“Leadership looks fun, but it’s stressful. Just look at someone leading a conga.” – James Acaster
“I bought myself some glasses. My observational comedy improved.” – Sara Pascoe
Top of the Flops – And some of the jokes voted the least laughable included:
“My mate sat on my pumpkin. He butternut squashed it.” – Leo Kearse
“I had a friend call Iain. Two ‘i’s… to go with the face.” – John Kearns
“I’m lazy – my childhood ambition was to be an injured footballer.” – Mike Shephard
“This vodka is drunk by the rapper Sean Combs. P Diddy? Only when he drank a whole bottle.” – Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham
“I tried to Google endangered species. They were hard to find.” – Suns of Fred
“I’d like to start with the chimney jokes – I’ve got a stack of them. The first one is on the house.” – Tim Vine
A HOOVER: but nothing to do with Tim Vine’s winning joke
