“Snart!” we shout within the walls of the Comedy Clubhouse, wondering where our favorite wizard-like comedian could possibly be. Stuart’s erratic energy matches his goofy humor, and the combination is always infectious. In one of his oldest jokes, he tells us how the Spanish government somehow thought Stuart’s real name was “Snart,” which could just be another typical story, but thanks to Stuart’s comedic stylings, it’s a stomach-clutching laugh-out-loud joke.
That’s what you get with Stuart Kennedy, one of our local favorites who’s toured around Europe recently with his show, Comedians and (Legally Distinct from but Similar to) Dragons, as well as a multiple Edinburgh Fringe participant. In 2022, he brought his solo show about his father’s death and brother’s illness to the Fringe, and despite its serious subject matter, he managed to keep the audience hurling with laughter because of his signature style.
In 2023, he brought Comedians and Dragons to the Fringe alongside his heckles-encouraged midnight show, Absolute Chaos. The two shows together are an adequate representation of Stuart—a lovable and chaotic fantasy dork who enjoys a bit of late-night antics (and hard rock music). Now, on Jan. 27, 2024, Stuart is bringing a new half hour to the Comedy Clubhouse in the 20h Spotlight show.
“I’ve been doing a lot of stuff on religion recently because I grew up on a really remote Scottish Island,” he says of what material to expect. “And my parents were not religious at all, but there, you had to pretend that you were. They couldn’t be honest with it. I had to go to Sunday school and had to go to all these things. Because it’s a village and if your kids don’t seem to be going to places of God or whatever, then the whole village will be like, ‘Oh what are they doing? They’re not looking after the kids, whatever.’ Stuart whispers that last bit as if all the hobbits in the shire are talking about Bilbo behind his back.
“So I had to go and I just hated going to Sunday school because I love f–king playing computer games,” he added. “It was a whole hour out of my entire week, once a week, to go there and I didn’t get any of it at all. None of the Bible stuff made sense to me or anything like that. I never ever, ever understood it for years and years and years of them trying to teach me it.”
So we can expect some of Stuart’s new half-hour to focus on that. “I’ve been doing a lot of stuff about that recently,” he said. “Which I’m very happy with. Some of it’s been reworked from years ago, which I’m very happy I’ve been able to dig up and actually make work.” That’s always the best feeling — as young comedians, we often come up with premises that we can’t fully work out, so it’s super satisfying to make it work years down the line.
Stuart first moved to Barcelona a while ago when he was “bored and fed up” in Glasgow. Little did he know, he’d meet the amazing Kim Skinner (his girlfriend), who would encourage him to get into standup comedy. He came with zero plans, and now, he’s headlining shows and touring around Europe.
Like the visiting comics who have come through Barcelona, Stuart is also drawn to our sense of community. “It seems like we started from a single point, everyone, just a group, sort of friends doing it. And everyone comes in as friends and whatever there’s not really much of a divide or anything like that here. So I like it. I like people being friends with each other and hanging out.”
There’s something about baring bits of our personalities onstage to one another, being vulnerable while trying to make people laugh, that can really bring people together. Of course, Stuart admits he might have it a little easier than other comics, thanks to his natural Scottish energy (incomprehensible accent and all).
“I guess I get a bit of a pass for like, I don’t know, Scottish people are just weird or something in general. Like, this wild man who’s just emerged, what’s he gonna say? … People seem to like me. And people like the fact that I’m Scottish. So yeah, the Scottish thing is definitely a plus just in and of itself for no particular reason. I have to work less hard than an American does.”
I would agree that even if Stuart doesn’t need to work as hard to get people to like him — he’s just naturally likable! — he still works hard, crafting jokes by going up onstage night after night while juggling a day job to pay the bills. And we can’t wait to see what else he creates.
Follow Stuart on Instagram @stuartkennedycomedian.
Follow Comedians and Dragons on Instagram @comediansanddragons.
Buy tickets to the Spotlight on Eventbrite.