Minor spoilers: This review includes discussion of some of the content of Christopher Macarthur-Boyd's 2023 Fringe show Crazy Times.
CHRISTOPHER Macarthur-Boyd has to be one of the worst kept secrets in Scottish comedy.
The Glaswegian has been tipped for the big time for years, but has never quite broken through to the dizzy heights of TV panel shows. Why is a mystery.
He has every ounce as much talent as comics with big broadcasting contracts like Jack Whitehall or Russell Howard – if anything, he’s funnier. And what makes Macarthur-Boyd so good is that, like some of the greats, it’s not so much what he says as how he says it.
READ MORE: Kieran Hodgson asks what it means to be Scottish in brilliant new Fringe show
The advert for his 2023 Fringe show – Crazy Times – promises jokes about “Edinburgh Zoo, going for a walk, and the collapse of the British state”. But Macarthur-Boyd’s material never reaches that level of gravity (except perhaps in one surprising moment about US gun culture).
The decline of the British state is mentioned only in passing on the way to setting up much more relatable – and politically safe – routines about Topman and Woolworths closing down. That’s not to say it’s ever dull. The Topman bit leads to discussion of carrot-leg skinny jeans and a wickedly clever quip about Rabbie Burns in the changing rooms. Woolworths weaves into a brilliantly funny description of the plot of “a film about Batman”.
A silly voice, a pulled face. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Macarthur-Boyd is able to use his natural charm to draw huge laughs with material that a lesser comedian would see criticised as played-out.
Case in point: if you’ve ever seen a Scottish stand-up at the Fringe, odds are you’ll have heard jokes about the differences between Glasgow and Edinburgh. One’s posh, one’s hard. One’s pretty, one’s not. One’s got a castle, the other doesn’t. We all know how it goes. But what could be tired material is in Macarthur-Boyd’s hands refreshed.
The laughs keep flowing as he bounces from one topic to the next, and his easy manner on stage can’t help but draw the crowd along with him.
Macarthur-Boyd’s comedy is not hard-hitting and political, but surely no-one expects it to be. One of the biggest laughs of the night comes after he does a pretty spot-on impression of an electric car. In his 2022 show, he was imitating buses – again to rapturous applause.
Next year, it’ll no doubt be something equally silly. And, once again, Macarthur-Boyd will manage to take something that sounds trite on paper and use it to have the audience in stitches.
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd is performing his show Crazy Times at Monkey Barrel Comedy at the Tron (Fringe venue 51) at 19:15 every day until August 27, except 14.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here