Susie McCabe on her comedy show and why Glasgow appreciates humour

Coming to the King’s Theatre in March as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, the East End comedian is promising audiences a "fun" and light-hearted show as she returns to the stage on the back of her sold out shows Born Believer and Femme Fatality.  

"The past two shows I’ve been quite vulnerable and honest in," she says, "but this show is just about fun.  

"It’s about maybe not always being where you think you should be and achieving or doing things that are beyond expectations.  

"It’s been really good fun to write. I got married last year so I talk about what happens when you’re middle aged and you get married for the second time and stuff that’s happened in the past year."

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Susie says she decided to be "daft and silly" to allow audiences to forget about their problems for a few hours.  

She explained: "Sometimes I think the world is such a rotten place.  

"Within the UK, there’s a lot of people struggling and I think just come and have a night out and forget your troubles.  

"We’ll all just have a big laugh for a couple of hours and it will be lovely."

Susie, who grew up in Garrowhill in the city’s East End, says comedy is something she believes unites Glasgow and transcends social class or status.  

"For a lot of cities music defines them or art defines them, but I think for us it’s comedy," she says.  

"I think we’ve got quite a dark sense of humour; we don’t mind self-deprecating, we don’t mind laughing at ourselves and there’s loads of funny people in Glasgow who aren’t necessarily bona fide comedians.  

"I think humour has a value within Glasgow, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or your social class, if you can laugh at yourself then you can laugh at us and that’s alright.  

"We don’t take ourselves too seriously."

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Susie’s comedy career came about by chance after she signed up to do a course with a friend at Strathclyde University. 

She credits GICF as being a "massive platform" for her after she did her first show for the festival at venue Dram in 2013.  

Just seven years later Susie had her first show scheduled for the King’s Theatre in 2020, though it was later delayed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

She said: "Within the space of nine years I had a sold-out King’s Theatre because it [GICF] let me go from a 60-seater to The Stand on a mid-week night, then The Stand on a weekend night.  

"And then your ticket sales are going quicker and you realise there’s a bit of demand and I think what a great thing for a local act to get. 

"For you to go and stand in the King’s Theatre in your own city and you can sell tickets on the back of your name in your city’s comedy festival; I honestly think what a platform that gives you."

There were originally two shows scheduled for The Merchant of Menace at the GICF, but following a high demand for tickets, a third matinee performance has been added on Saturday afternoon.  

Susie says she finds it "mind-blowing" she had to put on a third show and is excited for her first ever matinee performance.  

"It’s mad. The one time I thought ‘you’ve outstretched yourself’ but no the people have come,” she says.  

"The fact we’ve put on a third date is bananas.  

“We’ve put on a matinee. I think there’s something lovely about doing a matinee and I’ve never done one before.  

"I might be wrong, but I’m really excited about it."

She added: "It’s certainly one of Scotland’s most beautiful theatres and what an honour to stand on the shoulders of giants and do your own show and do it three times in a weekend.  

"I won’t know what to when Sunday comes."

The Glasgow International Comedy Festival will take place from Wednesday, March 13 until Sunday, March 31.  

Susie McCabe: The Merchant of Menace will be at the King’s Theatre on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16.