Last laugh for Tennent’s Bar?

Tennent’s Bar in Byres Road remains saved from major repointing, so far as we know, but that doesn?t mean everything is staying absolutely the same.

The iconic hostelry has introduced its own comedy nights, aiming to tap in on virtually limitless enthusiasm for laughter-inducing entertainment ? in these days of desperate and deepening recession we could all do with a snigger ? and its downstairs area now becomes Byres Road?s only (official) comedy spot every week on Wednesdays after 8pm.

Unfortunately I?m never around on a Wednesday night so I?ll have to rely on customers for feedback ? but nice to see jokeathons making it to Tennent?s, as in Woodlands people are well catered for by The Stand Comedy Club and The Dram.

Old Fashioned Religion

It?s the sort of publicity money just can?t buy ? and a salutary reminder that while in olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking we needn?t assume the loose-stays ambience of the West End today (have you seen Ashton Lane on a Friday night?) is acceptable to everyone.

A group of several dozen members of something called The Church of Zion turned up outside Oran Mor last week to barrack performers in a play entitled Christ on a Bike ? the Second Coming, by Richard Herring.

According to The Herald this show has played to around 50 venues and this is the first time it?s come under fire in quite this way.

The show?s director, Tommy Sheppard, is not chuffed by the way the religious enthusiasts disported themselves at the venue, reportedly likening their actions to ?the sort of thing you might expect from Al Quaeda, not on the streets of Glasgow?.

He says they should have read beyond the arresting title of the piece and taken the trouble to find out what it?s actually about ? which is, he says, in fact an exploration of the New Testament and how it conflicts with Herring?s particular take on something The Herald calls ?atheist logic?.

Quite regardless of the merits or otherwise of the play, the protesting fundamentalists should realise that their very presence as protesters will have had an effect entirely contrary to the one intended, and sell-out performances are assured.

It?s not the first time an artistic production in Glasgow has come under fire from religious people, of course. Many years ago Monty Python?s Life of Brian was banned from the city by a group of cooncillors who thought the citizens should be protected from cinematic heresies …which included such immortal and non-blasphemous lines as the message to the multitude from Brian?s mum: ?E?s not the Messiah ? e?s a very naughty boy!?

Nowadays I expect you could probably buy it on DVD at Fopp for a fiver.

Extraordinary cafes
Mansefield Park farmers market: Just Add Chilli

This section: Eating and drinking Glasgow West End

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Avatar of JimByrne West End based web Developer, writer, songwriter and musician. And the person who takes lots of photos for the Glasgow West End website.

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