A funny old world
Bruce packs his bags
Comedian Bruce Fummey is packing his bags for a tour that will take him to the other side of the world.
The Blackford-based funnyman will perform at Burns Supper in Brussels, Bangkok and Jakarta before heading to entertain audiences in Australia and New Zealand.
The popular stand- up, who was named Scottish comedian of the year in 2014, has a few warm-up gigs – and some bureaucracy – to get through before his flight on Monday.
His wife, physiotherapist Fiona, has had trouble getting a visa to head Down Under because it turns out she is an Australian citizen.
“Her parents were working in Australia in 1965 when she was born but came home when she was four,” explained Bruce.
“She can’t get a visa to go to Australia because she’s Australian.
“At the minute she’s either going to have to go to London to get an emergency passport or renounce her Australian citizenship in order to get in.
“But it seems you can’t renounce that citizenship if you were born there.
“We’re currently trying to work it out. She’s Scottish.”
Bruce is a passionate Scot, and possesses an impressive knowledge of the history and culture of our home nation.
He says that Burns suppers show him how popular Scottish culture is the world over.
“It’s something to do with the Scottish diaspora,” he continued.
“Wherever Scots go, they’re having Burns Suppers and ceilidh dances.
“Scottish people want a taste of home, but locals do too. When I do the one in Bangkok 25 to 30 per cent of the people there will be Thai.
“The one in Jakarta is very international with lots Americans and Australians. Americans love Scotland.”
Bruce says the ‘Address to the Haggis’ is a pleasure and that his party piece is a whole-hearted rendition of ‘Tam o’ Shanter’.
He added: “Folk come up to me and shake my hand and say ‘I didn’t understand a word of that but it was fantastic’.
“People like the beautiful songs, the knees-up. They enjoy it and Scottish country dancing is big deal too.”
Having entertained in South East Asia and at the European Parliament in Brussels – “it might be the last one” he said – Bruce will take his latest show to a crowd which has always responded well.
The former physics teacher went on: “This is the third time I’ve taken a Scottish history show Down Under and it’s sold out both times in the past.
“The show I’m doing this time is called ‘A History of Scotland: The Rise of the Ginger’.
“From start to finish I’ll cover the whole history of Scotland in an hourand-a-half.
“I’ll start with evolution and finish at the referendum, with Robert the Bruce, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Mary Queen of Scots and the Romans along the way.”
It is a busy couple of months for the local comic, with his high-profile slots at the Fringeworlds Festival in Perth, Australia, the Dunedin Fringe Festival in New Zealand and tour dates in both countries in between.
When he gets home to Scotland there is a show at the Glasgow Comedy Festival to look forward to and a homecoming show at Perth Concert Hall on April 22, which will be filmed for a DVD.
He concluded: “People who come to the show will leave more knowledgeable about Scotland than before they came in – and they’ll have had a laugh along the way.”
Tickets and information avout the show at Perth Concert Hall are available from www.horsecross.co.uk/ whats- on/ bruce-fummey- historyscotland-part-3-rise-ginger.