Stand and deliver good punchline?
Everyone has been there - a stand- up show where the comedian is dying on stage.
The dark desire of seeing someone fail spectacularly to be funny is one of the reasons why audiences love stand-up.
And a show taking place at the Macrobert next week examines the darker side of stand-up, with theatre maker Gary McNair returning to his roots with the first ever Scottish tour of Donald Robertson Is Not A Stand-Up Comedian.
“I absolutely love seeing someone die on stage,” said Gary. “I love standup, when it’s brilliant it’s the best night out. But when it goes really badly, I absolutely love that.
“I wanted to use that guy on stage that just isn’t funny, and enjoy playing with that character.”
In the show, Gary plays an adapted version of himself, giving advice to teenage Donald Robertson - who is being bullied and having a hard time - by teaching him the art of the humorous comeback.
The show has proved a hit at the Edinburgh Festival, and Gary is looking forward to bringing it on a long-awaited tour.
“There are wee bits of it that have changed,” he said. “We keep on our toes and there are certain bits that we can play with and adapt,
“It doesn’t revolve around some big incident that happened five years ago, so picking the show up again hasn’t been a problem.”
Gary has had a busy year, taking his other show A Gambler’s Guide to Dying across the world and is now preparing his next piece of theatre before heading to the US later in the year.
“The last year has been amazing, from the sell out of shows at the Festival to performing in the US. I am about to head back to the States, and getting to do this all year round has been great.”
The show at the Macrobert takes place next Wednesday (May 4) at 7.30pm and the creator is looking forward to playing across his home country.
“I have done a few shows in Stirling before and really enjoyed them,” said Gary. “They are a really great audience, that have a bit of a backbone. They make it clear that it is not Glasgow or Edinburgh and are an audience in their own right.”