SCOTLAND's first dedicated comedy club has officially celebrated its 30th birthday.
The Stand, based in Edinburgh, hosted its first regular club night in 1995, in the basement of a pub in the Grassmarket, before opening at a permanent venue on York Place in 1998.
The club also has sites in Glasgow and Newcastle, as well as being one of the staple venues at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, and has launched the careers of many comedians in Scotland, including Frankie Boyle and Kevin Bridges.
The milestone was celebrated at The Stand's Edinburgh venue on York Place last week, which The National was invited to attend.
Former SNP MP and The Stand co-founder Tommy Sheppard took to the stage, as well as a host of familiar faces on the comedy circuit – including Gareth Mutch, Vladimir McTavish, Robin Grainger and Liam Farrelly.
Reflecting on The Stand's history, Sheppard told guests that the venue has had "such an important part of Scottish cultural life" in the last 30 years.
He said: "We did it because we wanted a platform to be in the capital city of Scotland for people who wanted to perform stand-up comedy, because up to then the only way you could get in the business was to go to London."
Sheppard added that The Stand has stuck to the principle that "stand up comedy is not just about making people laugh".
"It's also about making people think, it's about saying the unsayable, about criticising the rich and powerful through the vehicle of humour," he continued.
"By doing that we give a voice to the audience from this stage and we allow people to get through their lives and get through their world a little bit saner and a little bit happier than they might do otherwise."
Sheppard also reflected on the "difficult" state of the sector, as he said: "This is what people in the business call a 'very challenging trading situation'.
"It means that a lot of people who used to go out once a week, now go out once a month. They used to spend a tenner, and now they try to keep it to one drink if they come out."
He added that while The Stand's presence at the Fringe is "not as big" as it once was, the comedy club had "consolidated" its position this year with the four venues it had secured.
This August, festival-goers can look forward to more than 60 different events across the capital – ranging from stand-up comedy to spoken word, to a series of "In Conversation" events with the likes of First Minister John Swinney, Glasgow University rector Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, independent MP and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and filmmaker Paul Laverty.
The National also told how several Palestinian comedians are set to make their Fringe debut at the Palestine Comedy Club, which will be held at The Stand on August 18, 19 and 20.
Sheppard urged people to show their support for the club, not just "so that we are confident in building towards a successful Fringe, but also towards the next chapter in our history".
He added: "We are not done yet, not by a long shot."
