Scottish Premiership (Sky Sports)

Scottish comic Kevin Bridges picks quite the time for his American debut – Houston Press

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“At least people need a laugh right now,” the Scottish joker Kevin Bridges sighs when asked why he chose now to make his North American debut.

“I always considered coming over,” Bridges continues. “I even joked about it a bit on stage on the timing of coming to the US. But usually, I think comedy thrives in times like this when people need some escapism. I give my take as an outsider, and it seems to be well received, so it is fertile ground for comedy with everything that is going on in your country.”

After 20 years in the business of joke telling, the 38-year-old Bridges has truly reached high highs in the comedy industry of his native United Kingdom.

“Part of why I came to the state is I’m not that known here,” the warm-voiced comic explains, hyping up his single night at Cullen Performance Hall on Saturday, Nov 8. “So in a way it is quite good to not have immense pressure, where as in the UK, I’m playing in arenas with 10,000 or 11,000 people. It can be hard to improvise. But over here, the venues can be like 800 to 1000.”

“So for me,” he continues, “it’s a bit like going back in time. But what is good is I have the experience and I can go back to enjoying these slightly smaller rooms, and the show is much more live because I’m trying things out and experimenting. I’m enjoying the fresh crowds and the challenge of being in a brand new country with my own take on everything.”

While Bridges has proven to be a smash on social media, he prepares the audience to prepare for his thick accent and rapid fire delivery. “The audience is probably initially taken aback by my accent,” he admits. “I’ve tried to soften it a little bit, but not be a fraud. The Scottish people are probably like, ‘why is he talking like that – is he taking elocution lessons?’

“The challenges have made me, forgive the cliché, really appreciate stand up again: the idea of getting an idea during the day and trying it out at night. American audiences have been very enthusiastic and receptive.”

Describing his perspective is tough for the young comic, but he essentially breaks his act along the lines of two types of bits. “My comic style, I try to keep it fairly topical, fairly current – and also personal stuff. I’m always talking about whatever is going on in the world, and also my own life. I started at 17, and I used to talk about being a teenager and being overweight. I lost weight, and my whole life has been documented through stand up. I’m a father to a 4-year-old, and I’m a husband approaching 40.“

While many U.K. comics approach their stand-up specials from the foundations closer to the one-person show, Bridges sets expectations that this show at least will be closer to traditional stand-up, with bits on all subjects open to him. “I try to find funny angles, I don’t say I need to have a comedy routine about this subject,” he explains. ”Instead, I have this joke about deodorant, so that finds it way into the show. I have a funny joke about my son. So I find the jokes, and I place them. Certainly a theme or overarching narrative begins, [but] it’s trial and error where I work it out in comedy clubs, and there’s an hour or so of stuff coming together, a fairly organic product.”

One unique distinction that 90 percent of touring headliners might envy, but Bridges has the rare distinction of having had his filmed stand-up specials released in movie theaters. “That’s right, seeing your face up in the cinemas was pretty exciting,” he says of the thrill that few American comics beyond Eddie Murphy or Kevin Hart have had in America. “It was pretty well received, and it was totally different rather than just release it as a [streaming] special.

“I think it’s only when you are going to the cinema do you remember how fun going to the cinema is. We’re so saturated by all these streaming services, last night me and my wife say down and are just browsing and browsing for hours – but don’t watch anything! There’s something about going to the cinema and somebody else has decided what you are watching for the night that takes the pressure off!”

An underrated element too is how much funnier a comic play in a room full of people, be they at a live concert or in the cinema. “People who went, some admitted to being a little anxious since COVID to be going to live events, but they really enjoyed this kind of happy medium where they are still with people, but much smaller setting to see it in this communal experience.”

In some ways, this return to smaller venues for Bridges has been like a wish-fulfillment. With the pressure lifted, he discovered his perfect environment for stand up comedy. “When you’re on the way up and you’re playing venues that size, there is a lot of pressure. But as you say, looking back, I don’t know if I enjoyed that stage in my career. So getting back to that experience and actually taking it in? I think between 1,000 and 2,000 is actually the perfect size for stand up. When it gets bigger, it can still be good – but 1,000-2,000 is really that sweet spot.”

While this North American leg has taken the Scott all over, he’s doing more than bringing laughs – he’s checking off American bucket list items left and right.

Here’s Bridges Top 4 To-Dos:

1. Texas-Sized Meal: “I have done BBQ in Austin, Texas and it was 91 degrees. So before the show, I think I gave myself sunstroke and gout in one go.”

2. Meet an American Icon: “The other [night], there was Steve Van Zandt, from Bruce Springsteen’s band and The Sopranos. My agent has seen them 3 or 4 times, so I would like to walk over and say hello and what a huge fan I am. So meeting Steve Van Zandt was immediately on the bucket list.”

3. Witness an American Past Time Up Close: “I would quite like to see any American sport, go and watch something live. Basketball? Baseball?”

4. Test His Endurance: “The Hollywood sign! I don’t know if I can put up with the traffic just to see something. But [if I hike it], I’ll just collapse onstage. Pretty hard to balance being a good tourist and being there for the audience.”

Bridges performs on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Cullen Performance Hall, 4300 University. For more information, visit cph.evenue.net. $46-69

This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

A Scottish Pub Known For Premier Fish and Chips Is Moving After 35 Years

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The Duke of Perth, home of one of the city’s best plates of fish and chips and a rare Chicago pub that highlights Scottish cuisine, is moving from its original home where it has stood since 1989. Later this month, they’ll wrap up a 35-year stint at 2913 N. Clark Street. Work has already begun at their new home, 2827 N. Broadway, the former Renaldi’s Pizza. It’s about a five-minute walk southeast.

Coincidentally, the Renaldi’s space has sentimental value for the Duke’s co-owner John Crombie. When he first emigrated to America from Dundee, Scotland, he met the woman who would become his wife. After a visit to Scotland, he flew back to Chicago where she picked him up from O’Hare International Airport and they drove directly to Renaldi’s: “It’s always been a soft spot for us,” Crombie says.

That nostalgia didn’t fuel the move. Operating a restaurant is tough, and Crombie and his partners thought they were stuck in a rut at the original space. They weren’t making money and their lease was about to expire. Crombie feared if they renewed their lease, say for three years, they’d find themselves in the same predicament in three years. The choice was either to close or take a chance and move. Meanwhile, Renaldi’s was caught in limbo after 50 years. Though closed since September, cryptic signs left in the window left hope that a reopening was possible. That never happened and Crombie says he made an offer around Thanksgiving in November.

The new location won’t have a lot of new bells and whistles or a new menu: “Good whisky, good beer — wonderful [all-you-can-eat] fish and chips,” Crombie reiterates. The Duke is a place for conversation and there are no TVs; that philosophy will carry over as they’re trying to recreate the Clark Street space on Broadway. Crombie says started the process of “heavy redecorating.” Out went Renadli’s old pizza oven. The Duke’s history dates back to the ‘80s when Crombie and company owned a store, International Antiques, at 2909 N. Clark Street, across from the Century Shopping Center. They purchased the building and decided to open a pub.

Renaldi’s is closed as Duke of Perth is moving inside.

Ashok Selvam/Eater Chicago

But in the early years, they struggled and as the market for antiques sagged, they decided to sell the building. Crombie says two months after the sale, Chicago magazine published a story praising the Duke’s fish and chips. The positive press ignited business and the Duke was saved. The ownership also is behind another Lakeview icon, Le Creperie, having purchased the French restaurant in 2014. The original idea was to move the Duke into Le Creperie’s space, but after their landlord lowered the rent and hearing the community outcry to save Le Creperie, John and Jack Crombie changed directions.

The plan is to close around May 25 on Clark Street, to give some of the musicians who frequently performed over the years a chance to say goodbye and to open on Broadway in early June. As Crombie and his partners, including Colin Cameron, get older, operating a bar continues to be a daunting task. Despite the temptations to close, Crombie was matter-of-fact in their reasoning to keep going.

“Just because the Duke is the Duke and everybody likes it,” he says.

Crombie is also amused as they purchased Renaldi’s old liquor license. The name of the license? “Shorty O’Toole’s.”

“It’s a Scottish place buying an Italian place with an Irish name,” Crombie adds.