Poor Things author Alasdair Gray to be celebrated at Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Events will also be held to celebrate the 850th anniversary of Glasgow.
Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF) has announced a partnership with The Alasdair Gray Archive (AGA) to celebrate the iconic artist and writer Alasdair Gray.
Three comedians, Alan Bissett, Ashley Storrie and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, will create and stage work celebrating The Alasdair Gray Archive as part of GICF, with scratch performances also taking place on ‘Gray Day’.
Gray Matters: A Laugh for Glasgow’s 850 Years is supported by the Glasgow 850 Festival Fund which celebrates the city’s 850th birthday as part of a yearlong, citywide programme of events and community activities, and will take place on 23rd March 2025 during GICF.
The work of the three Scottish comedic artists will be staged at one big event with performances encompassing stand-up, digital and scripted, all inspired by Alasdair Gray and his work. Plus, scratch performances will also take place on ‘Gray Day’ on 25th February 2025 at Òran Mór.
Play focuses on Gray meeting Billy Connolly
Alan Bissett will create the scripted response, delving into the story of when Alasdair Gray met another Glasgow icon, Billy Connolly, at the launch for Gray's debut novel, LANARK, inspired by a photo of the meeting in the Archive.
Bissett says Gray's work has had a huge impact on Glasgow, he said: "He gave Glasgow a certain sense of itself, in terms of his literature and the paintings that he did - you can see them all over the city.
"So to pay tribute to a man like that feels like a great honour.
"He excavated layers of Glasgow that I think we're only just starting to appreciate the full richness of."
With Bissett's play's focus on Gray meeting Connoll, he says it's been a challenge to honour the meeting of the two icons properly.
He said: "Because everyone knows what Billy and Alasdair sound like I do feel a bit of pressure to get that right, so that people feel it's convincing enough for them to go with it."
Gray archive "really brought him to life"
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd has been awarded the stand-up commission, which will focus on stories about the characters in Alasdair's work.
Ashley Storrie's digital response will centre around his striking murals throughout the city.
All three comedians were invited to spend time at The Alasdair Gray Archive in Glasgow, researching his words, images and art, and speaking to its Custodian Sorcha Dallas as part of their research to create their shows.
Bissett found it vital to writing the play, he said, "They've got loads of really interesting little nuggets tucked away here and there—notes that he'd written to people or doodles that he'd done, all of which really brought him to life.
"I felt like it was necessary to spend some time there before I wrote this piece."
The Alasdair Gray Archive Custodian, Sorcha Dallas said: “We are thrilled to be working with Glasgow International Comedy Festival on three new comedic responses to our collection in a seminal year with Glasgow 850, Alasdair Gray’s 90th and our own 5th birthday.
"We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than commissioning Alan Bissett, Ashley Storrie and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd to respond to our collection and create new work that will bring Alasdair’s work to wider attention.”
Glasgow's the ‘funniest city in the world'
Festival Director Krista MacDonald said: “Alasdair Gray is so important to the city of Glasgow and its cultural scene - having influenced everything from literature, film, murals and art, and so we’re thrilled to present this new work to celebrate the Archive within the comedy world.
"It feels like a fitting way to mark Glasgow’s 850th birthday by bringing together these three excellent comedians to honour Alasdair Gray’s work.”
Glasgow International Comedy Festival will celebrate Glasgow as the ‘funniest city in the world’ from 12th - 30th March 2025, with shows taking place across the city.
202\5 festival tickets are on sale with the full festival launch in early January.
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