New book to celebrate the Scottish comedy stalwarts

Actors Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson are revisiting their breakthrough comedy characters  Victor and Barry for a new book.

The act became a decade-long stalwart of the Scottish comedy scene, taking off after their first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1984.

The alter-egos went on to inspire the central characters in The High Life, the BBC sitcom about  two narcissistic air stewards that they created together.

Now the performers will be collecting their reminiscences of Victor MacIlvaney and Barry McLeish – along with classic scripts, interviews, memorabilia and other material – for Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium: A Meander Down Memory Close.

The highly illustrated book will also feature memories from celebrity fans and collaborators, including actor David Morrisey and TV presenter Kirsty Wark – and a foreword from former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

In a statement, Cumming and  Masson said: ‘Victor and Barry have had such a huge effect on both our lives.

‘What we learned as writers and performers has influenced and stayed with us all through our careers, so looking back and celebrating the incredible experiences and the huge amount of laughs Victor and Barry gave us and our audiences has been a joy and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.’

The retrospective will be published by Scottish publishing house 404 Ink next year,  to mark 40 years since that Edinburgh Fringe debut.

However, it was not an instant success, with the duo receiving a lukewarm review in The Scotsman, written by future BBC political editor Andrew Marr. In revenge, the pair went on stage at the boisterous late-night Fringe Club and rewrote the lyrics to Madonna’s Lucky Star with the chorus: ’We can thank you, Andrew Marr, that you're not as smart as you'd like to think you are.'

Victor and Barry had begun as a college cabaret to entertain final-year drama students at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1982. They went on to appear on STV and the BBC as well as embark on a tour of Australia, before parting ways in the mid 1990s.

Here’s a clip of them at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe:

Laura Jones, of 404 Ink said: ‘It goes without saying that it’s a privilege to be publishing an equally nostalgic and hilarious reflective on Alan and Forbes’ early career duo, who offered a genteel, harmonious parodying of amateur dramatics and Glasgow’s aspirational gentrification in the 1980s before their careers took them to prolific new heights in writing and performance.

‘Quite unlike anything 404 Ink has published before, this Kelvinside Compendium marks and experimental turning point for our list that we hope readers will enjoy as much as we have."’

After their partnership dissolved, Masson went on to appear in shows including The Crown and Eastenders, and is now an associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Cumming going on to perform on Broadway, in TV’s The Good Wife and, recently, was the host of reality TV blockbuster The Traitors in the US.

News of their book comes after the British Comedy Guide reported that The High Life may be adapted into a stage musical, with Masson's agent Vivienne Clore confirming that the project is ‘a work in progress’.

Amazon is currently accepting orders for Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium, with a publication date of July 25, 2024.

Published: 2 May 2023