Glasgow International Comedy Festival 2020: Our Top Picks

Fond though I am of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it doesn't come close to the unbridled enthusiasm that I have for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. A large part of this is due to me not having to spend a month fighting with Scotrail but also that although the programme is vast, its a lot more manageable. It's a great chance to see comedians you might have missed in Edinburgh last year and to pick up cheap tickets for work in progress shows that might be heading to the capital in August.

Top picks in standup:

Ashley Storrie returns to The Stand for two performances this March. It's unclear from the blurb whether this is a new hour but I will blindly recommend any of Ashley's shows because she's utterly brilliant and one I always really look forward to.

Jordan Brookes: I've Got Nothing was the 2019 winner of Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Award and I was disappointed to miss it at the festival last year so I'm thrilled to see it's coming to Glasgow's Old Hairdressers for performances on the 13th and 14th of March.

Fringe fave Lauren Pattison is making her Glasgow International Comedy Festival debut and I'm super excited to see her new WIP show at the Hug and Pint on the 15th of March. There's little information on the show content but this is one that I'm very confident about saying it'll be 6 quid well spent.

It's an absolute joy to see some of the best in Scottish comedy taking centre stage at this festival as Janey Godley, Susie McCabe and Jim Smith perform solo shows at the 1,700 capacity King's Theatre- with additional dates being added due to demand.

I've recently become hooked on the All Killa No Filla podcast so another of my most anticipated shows at the festival is Rachel Fairburn: The People's Princess. Rachel's been described by some losers as obnoxious, rude and contrary. However, she thinks she's absolutely adorable and the natural choice for the dormant title of The People's Princess. I believe tickets are selling well for this so would advise booking soon!

Fern Brady is bringing Power and Chaos to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival for two performances. This show sold out really quickly in Edinburgh last year but I managed to catch it on tour on November and it was definitely one of my favourite comedy hours in 2019.

I've seen bits of Dreamboat by Christopher Macarthur-Boyd but not the full hour so I'm keen to get along to its final outing in March. I can promise that its absolutely worth catching the 'wee speccy future of Glaswegian stand up' do his bit on breakfast cereal.

Top picks in theatre:

I know several people who have already seen Curtains starring Jason Manford on its UK tour and raved about it so I'm excited to see it when it comes to the King's Theatre from the 10th - 14th March. Curtains promises a hilarious whodunnit that is packed full of catchy songs, unforgettable characters and plot twists galore.

Chris McQueer's new play Runner takes a look at social media celebrity culture as Scotland's most famous influencer does a runner to the Highlands to unplug herself from the internet. I'm a big fan of McQueer's short stories so this is one I'm really looking forward to.

The One is a play about a couple trapped in a destructive and violent cycle of love and lust and is from Vicky Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the team behind Fleabag, Touch and Killing Eve. The One runs at Webster's Theatre

The full Glasgow International Comedy Festival programme is available on their website.

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