Where is all the biting Scottish Political satire these days? It seems to have just disappeared along with original Irn Bru and your online personal data. Well two of your Bungo neighbours have decided to do something about it!
Putting their years of experience to work the result is News Hacks. With a hysterical new script each month they deliver a fresh take on the news, those making the news, plus a smattering of side swipes at life in general in 21st century Scotland. If you watch, listen or read the news on any platform this is the show that puts it all into perspective. No one is immune from their spotlight.
Karen Townsend and Rikki Brown, who live in one of the garden streets, have set up a theatre production company, Bialystock and Brown. Main aim? To ensure that those in the public eye aren’t allowed to take themselves too seriously at all.
Rikki has a long history in comedy writing. He started off with Naked Radio and Video, moved onto Spitting Image, Rory Bremner and Craig Ferguson. He was the Head Writer for Watson’s Wind Up which was BBC Scotland’s most successful comedy sketch show running for 10 years. He originally comes from Easterhouse, and yes it was during the gang warfare days, although luckily he was a young boy at the time. He was also schooled in Easterhouse. Half his ex-classmates are now in Barlinne and the other half work in Glasgow Law Enforcement putting them in there. He used comedy to keep out of trouble. Well with his peers, not the teachers unfortunately.
Karen’s parents were told by her teachers at school when she showed an interest in drama “don’t work in theatre, no one ever makes a living in theatre, tell her to go and do something sensible instead”. Karen, being the stubborn type of course, has worked in theatre ever since. She has worked with all the great and good working closely with Stanley Baxter on his last ever Pantomime, Rikki Fulton and Jack Milroy and Jimmy Logan. In her very younger days of course! Jack and Rikki teaching her the correct pronunciation of “simmit”. Invaluable during Glasgow winters her being a soft Sassenach. Although she knew she had been accepted as an honorary Scot when she was called a Weegie by someone from Edinburgh.
The show is on at the Oran Mor in the Westend. They would have loved to have started it Southside, but at the moment need to build the audience with our rivals in the west…
Rikki Brown play during rehearsals at The Theatre Royal Glasgow l-r Des McLean, Jimmy Chisholm, Rikki Brown, Elaine McKenzie
The show stars Jimmy Chisolm, Elaine McKenzie Ellis and Des McClean, the next one is Friday 20th July at 8pm. Then they have shows Sunday 30th September, Sunday 21st October, and Friday 23rd November and of course some December shows. As with any business it takes time to build so they would love the support of their neighbours. They promise a very funny evening. As one reviewer has put it “News Hacks is a hugely welcome addition to the comedy scene: biting, brilliant and about time too”.
More info: Oran Mor Events
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