The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Still Game’s Miser Tam and gossip Isa to join street poet at charity fundraiser
DUNDEE: Duo to entertain with Mark Cox in aid of ARCHIE Foundation
It’s the charity ticket that even Craiglang cheapskate Tam Mullen would struggle to turn down.
Still Game stars Mark Cox and Jane McCarry are joining forces with Dundee street poet Gary Robertson to raise money for the ARCHIE Foundation.
A Laugh an a Kerry On... will take place at the Invercarse Hotel in Dundee on Thursday March 19, in association with Dundee Licensed Trade Association and Choose Events.
Mark and Jane will give their take on many celebrated elements of Scottish culture, following a three-course meal, while Gary will be entertaining with poetry delivered in his “oary” Dundonian tongue.
“We love coming back up to Dundee because it’s a city that is very much on the up at the moment,” said Mark, who plays Miser Tam in Still Game.
“We appeared at the Invercarse Hotel last year for That’s Plenty Rabbie but there’s an awful lot more to say this time round.
“We’ll talk about some of the places we’ve visited and some of the things that have happened there – the good, the bad and the disastrous! There will also be a few Still Game anecdotes thrown in for good measure.”
Mark said the charity element will make the night all the more special.
Jane – who plays Still Game’s gossip queen Isa Brennan – described Dundee audiences as “warm and receptive”.
She also joked she works with Mark “94% of the time” and revealed the secret to their successful comedy partnership. “I think we genuinely make each other laugh,” she said.
“Fun has to be the element of everything and we really do enjoy performing together.
“We jumped at the chance to come back to Dundee when the offer arrived.”
Dundee poet Gary Robertson, who was named the country’s best street performer at the Scots Language Awards, is the man behind popular local plays The Scaffies, The Berries and The Middle O’ Nowhere: A Bothy Haunting.
The Fintry man cut his literary teeth writing poetry with pals Mark Thomson and Kevin McCabe after the trio met at a writing group called Hilltown Horizons in the early 2000s.
The group went on to form Tribal Tongues and their brand of poetry – written in Dundee’s “Oary” dialect – took the Scottish spoken-word scene by storm.
Gary said: “To be sharing the same platform with Tam and Isa has blown me away.
“The Still Game characters are national treasures and I’m really excited to be part of this night.
“The ARCHIE Foundation is a great cause and I hope people come along and support us on the night.”
Cutting Edge will complete the evening with a set of traditional and contemporary live music.
For tickets, which are on sale now priced £40, call 07930 829247.