Maple Laughs

Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club. Katherine Ryan. Copyright: Hot Sauce

Canadian comics find inventive ways to make an impact.

As the clocks go forward and Spring really kicks in, comedy aficionados can usually look forward to a summer of fresh stand-up and sketches, as lots of new live shows launch. For the comedians themselves, summer tends to revolve around the Edinburgh Fringe, either prepping a show for it or hoovering up the club and festival slots those Fringe comics leave behind. A busy time, either way.

Things were very different last year, of course, and we wait to see how this year's Fringe - and the many events that relate to it - will work, either live or on their newly announced Fringe Player. Beyond the UK, meanwhile, another prestigious event has announced its 2021 return after a fallow 2020: Montreal's Just For Laughs. The world's biggest dedicated comedy festival is back this July, with a new live and online schedule to stay flexible whatever 2021 may throw at us.

Getting a Just For Laughs invite is a big deal, so you wonder how those acts who were hoping to go last year made up for it at home. How do you convince yourself that you're in Canada? Spin a few albums by the great Montreal band Arcade Fire, perhaps, or try your luck on the best Canadian online casinos. Or look on YouTube, Twitch and Netflix and you'll find a lot of excellent comics from that fine nation, many now based in Britain.

There really are a diverse array of Canadian comics over here these days, and no shortage of good examples of what can be achieved for those who make the big move. Just look at Katherine Ryan, who has been all over UK TV for a good few years now, and moved up a step in 2020 with her own well-received sitcom, The Duchess. As did Mae Martin, whose semi-autobiographical sitcom Feel Good won almost universal acclaim, and is now set for a second series.

Hay Festival 2019. Mae Martin. Copyright: Marsha Arnold

Meanwhile a bunch of Canadians pushed the envelope during lockdown, when it came to virtual shows. The brilliantly surreal Tony Law has taken to the streaming service Twitch, initially as a double act with his award-winning compatriot Phil Nichol, as Virtue Chamber Echo Bravo. That was followed by his own Tonezone, which features Law and occasional guests chatting over weird background footage.

Also streaming - rather than pre-recording - is Chris Betts, who moved to the UK from Montreal almost a decade ago now, and made a rapid splash. He has turned a popular live show - Chris Betts vs the Audience - into a live-streamed podcast, where he and guest comics argue for the sake of it. Meanwhile Betts has a sort-of double-act with another compatriot, John Hastings: their latest stream was a watchalong of the mighty Wrestlemania 37, which is fairly self-explanatory.

This is clearly fertile ground for Canadian comics. One talented trio - Glenn Wool, Craig Campbell and Stewart Frances - even formed a sort of stand-up supergroup, years ago: The Lumberjacks. And Tom Stade became a star over here due to a routine about a meat raffle. You never know what might catch on.

Published: Monday 19th April 2021

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