After selling out his run at the Edinburgh Fringe and receiving rave reviews, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd is taking his acclaimed Howling at the Moon show on tour.
The Glasgow-born comedian will be finding the funny side of break ups, his video game obsession, the music he grew up with and much more. It's a candid, comedic look at love, grief and nostalgia.
As well as being one of Scotland's rising stand-up stars the self-styled 'speccy wee guy' also co-hosts the hit topical podcast Here Comes The Guillotine, alongside Frankie Boyle and Susie McCabe.
Below he talks about having to dress as a gym mascot, how wearing a suit has helped his performance and being mistaken for a comedy superstar's lovechild.
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd's Howling at the Moon tour starts on 4 March, 2026 at The Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh. Tickets and tour dates here: www.offthekerb.com/artist/christopher-macarthur-boyd
I really enjoyed your show in Edinburgh. How was it for you?
On paper it was an absolutely incredible Fringe because it sold out and the reviews were really good and I was in a nice living situation with my girlfriend and some really good comics. And we had Nintendo Switch 2 in the flat. So in a lot of ways it was a perfect Fringe but in some ways it was so sad. My gran died on the second day of the Fringe. And then the third Saturday I think was her funeral.
You talked about that the night I saw you. The show was already about the traumatic time you'd been having even before this....
I had a big break-up and then had to move back to the East End of Glasgow where I grew up. Living with your mum and dad is not where you want to be in your thirties. It was like burning everything down and starting again. But I do reassure audiences at the start that I'm fine now so that they can get on board. And then they're like 'OK, if you are OK we can laugh about it.'
Was it a quarter-life crisis?
I'm 32 so I'd have to live to be 120, which I don't foresee with the amount of Irn Bru I drink. I think for a Glaswegian 32 counts as a mid-life crisis.
Does your family have any showbiz connections?
My dad is a hairdresser. My mum was a hairdresser and then one day she woke up and she was allergic to bleach. My dad used to do the hair for Greg McHugh when he played Gary Tank Commander. He used to do his hair in his hotel room and I would go along and watch. But I don't remember ever being like 'oh, this would be a good job.'
Talking of hair, with your current floppy quiff you have a passing resemblance to Michael McIntyre...
A few years ago Michael's management company Off the Kerb were putting together a showcase. Michael apparently arrived just as I was onstage and he went, 'who is this?' I think he thought I was his love child.
After I was in the final of the So You Think You're Funny competition I got an email from them. I thought they wanted to manage me, but they were asking if I wanted to give out flyers outside Alan Carr's Glasgow gig. Absolutely brutal! But then three years later I signed with them.
You've had an image makeover recently...
I started wearing a suit onstage. I was watching the Billy Connolly masterclass on iPlayer. It's full of really good advice. One of the things he said was change your clothes. Even if you dress normal onstage, make sure it's a different normal so you can go into a different mindset. I really enjoy wearing a suit. The audience respect you more. I think you get heckled less and get more laughs. It's like a magic trick.
Does Billy Connolly still cast a big shadow over Scottish comedy?
Everybody loves him. When I was a boy Connolly videos were what you would get your dad for his birthday. At Christmas three or four generations could watch Billy Connolly together. He's kind of like our Jesus. Everybody worships him. He was doing really funny, weird comedy way before alternative comedy, long shaggy dog stories. He's amazing.
Has he influenced your style?
In my last show Scary Times, which is on YouTube, I told big loopy stories. But in Howling at the Moon there's only one long story, about my girlfriend and me being bisexual and having a strange incident with a friend in Magaluf. I've found that on tour audiences like something that's a bit more bang, bang, bang so that's what I'm doing this time.
Apart from Connolly, who do you admire?
I love John Mulaney, Norm Macdonald, Maria Bamford, Kyle Kinane, Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Frank Boyle and Kevin Bridges. I'm a comedy nerd. The best feeling in the world is going to see somebody talk for an hour and a half and absolutely take the roof off.
What made you want to do stand-up?
At high school I was in Little Shop of Horrors as the dentist and I hosted a raffle in character. I was basically doing crowdwork and people were like 'that was the best raffle I've ever seen'. Elaine C Smith from Two Doors Down was there and said 'that wee guy can do comedy.' That stuck in my head. Then one night I went to the Red Raw open mic show at The Stand and I thought some of the acts were terrible, I could do better than that. I did my first gig there when I was 19.
Have you had to do other jobs to support yourself?
Of course. One job was wearing mascot costumes. I'd go to events dressed up as a big cartoon character or like a gym mascot called Jimmy for Glasgow Gyms and I'd have to dance around. That's what you have to do when you're not from the landed gentry.
With your double-barrelled name people might think you are posh though...
Some promoters see my name and think they are getting a little posh boy. My dad's dad was called Boyd, and his stepdad was called MacArthur. So dad had two surnames. Then when he was signing on in the 1980s he combined them. So I got a double-barrelled name because my dad was on the dole! I use a small 'a' - I think i'm the only Macarthur in the world.
The podcast Here Comes The Guillotine with Frankie Boyle and Susie McCabe is more savage than your stand-up. You probably swear less onstage.
It's a fairly bracing listen. It's surreal working with Frankie because when I was a teenager I would get his DVD for Christmas. I think if you can make a joke work without swearing though, you get away with a lot more. I think effing and jeffing should be a garnish, not the main ingredient. The way that you would put a sprig of coriander on top of a chilli.
You talk about mental health onstage but you seem to be one of the few comedians not officially diagnosed with ADHD...
I went to the doctor and said 'I think I have this.' I've lost my passport so many times the government said I'm not allowed another passport. I lose keys, I'm unable to do basic tasks. I'm not diagnosed though. The doctor asked me to write an essay about how I have ADHD but I've lost the paperwork.
