Beyond happy to hilarious

BRACE YOURSELF for a seriously funny evening with two of Scotland’s finest stand-up comedians, Raymond Mearns and Phil Kay, in a show next Friday hosted by the Scottish Business Group.
Mearns has performed in Bangkok twice before and a lot of folks are still chuckling. Once again his comedy will be accompanied by lots of food and drinks and general Scottish merry making.
“The great thing about comedy is it’s an international language – through body and facial language and timing,” says the host group’s Andrew Sloan.
“Some people might be put off by a fear of not understanding the Scottish accent, but what they don’t understand is that it’s a secret weapon we turn on when we don’t want others to understand us. We even have different accents for different cities! It’s all very hush-hush, though – a bit like our wild roaming haggis.
“In comedy we want the audience to understand us, so don’t worry about the accent. Laughter is a great medicine for body and soul.”
Sloan says the Scottish Business Group strives to “create a community for the evening and give back to society by supporting the Gift of Happiness. It’s not about making money – it’s about escaping and appreciating what life can give and giving.”
With few such comedy nights being held in Bangkok and even fewer associated with such charitable causes, Sloan grabbed the opportunity to introduce Thais to more of the humour perhaps best known internationally through Billy Connolly, once a devastating comic who’s since mellowed down in the movies.
Sloan saw Ray Mearns perform on a trip home and coaxed him to Bangkok, not once but twice, and both shows with sold out.
“Raymond is extremely funny and very similar to Billy Connolly,” Sloan says. “He engages the audience with anecdotes and involves them in the act. His material is based on his life, so people really identify with him. That’s why he’s so funny.
“And Phil Kay is a very popular comedian in the UK and had his own television show. He’s a very reactive comic, improvising with whatever’s around him and using situations and life as a backdrop to his act.”
Mearns is best known as part of the Scottish TV sitcom “Legit” and has graced festivals and comedy clubs all over the world. Kay rose to fame after winning the “So You Think You’re Funny” competition at the 1989 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was subsequently nominated for the Perrier Award and was declared Best Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards in 1994.
Apart from his live act, Kay has remained largely behind the scenes on television, helping write Jonathan Ross’ “Saturday Show”, Channel 4’s “Viva Cabaret”, “The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer”, “Sean’s Show” and Harry Hill’s “Pilot Show”, among others.

Enjoy “A Night of Scottish Comedy” next Friday at 6.30 in the Ballroom of the Holiday Inn on Sukhumvit Soi 22.
Admission is Bt2,850 and comes with pre-show appetisers, a four-course dinner, free-flowing soft drinks, wine and beer and free corkage if you bring your own bottle.
Reservations are a must at [email protected].
The same duo take their show to the Holiday Inn Havana Pattaya on October 5, the Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin on October 6 and the Holiday Inn Phuket on October 8.