Vulgar, opinionated, yet at the same time disarmingly honest, U.S. stand-up comedian Doug Stanhope is guaranteed to entertain, shock, and enlighten. Understandably compared by many to both Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce due to the ferocity of some of his material, Stanhope is unequivocally his own man in the manner with which he too is happy to give the very foundations of American values a brutally comedic kicking.
Named by both Variety and the Hollywood reporter as “one to watch” (not that he’d care) Stanhope is already a subversive force on U.S. TV and a major draw on the State-side comedy circuit, and the 6th of August sees him bring his unique take on the American condition to this year’s Edinburgh Festival in a brand-new show. Kicking things off at the Tron’s Comedy Room for a week, Doug will then move to the 450-seat George Square Theatre for the remainder of the festival. If you like your comedy rough, raw, and rowdy, then the outrageously uninhibited Stanhope’s new Edinburgh show is one not to be missed.A stand-up since 1990, Stanhope developed his relaxed (he likes to drink on stage) and spontaneous style in Las Vegas where he learnt his trade telling jokes for free drinks whilst “living off fraud telemarketing and the kindness of strippers.” Winner of the Edinburgh Strathmore Press Award in 2002 and the San Francisco Comedy Festival Stanhope has gone on to “prostitute myself” as a comic on U.S. T.V via the likes of the Howard Stern Show, Late Friday, Girls Gone Wild, Floor Show Live, the Jerry Springer Show and Fox News: because, according to Stanhope, “TV is just for the money, live performance is where it’s at.”
Website: www.dougstanhope.com