Canada's funniest man comes to town
Laugh out loud with Derek Edwards, the comic widely known as the funniest man in Canada.
His “Blunderful Life Tour” is making a stop in Victoria, May 8 at the McPherson Playhouse.
“I like talking about stuff people can relate to. I’ve been married a long time, I’m from a small town — so I’m a bit of a hozer — and I understand the speed and insanity of living in Toronto. People in Victoria can relate to that, I’m sure, if they’ve ever been to Vancouver.”
Edwards will offer at least a 90-minute show with no opener and no intermission. “I don’t want to give people an opportunity to leave early,” he laughs.
“I’m going with comedy, it seems to be my strength,” he says. No kidding — Edwards is the only Canadian to have won the prestigious Invitational Comedy Competition in Vail, Colorado, is a regular at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival and has been nominated for two Gemini Awards.
Last time he visited the city he calls “cutesy,” he saw a sight he will remember always. “I had never seen an eagle before,” he says. “We were driving along these beautiful coastal roads, and there it was, picking french fries out of a KFC snack pack. I expected to be more awestruck at this great symbol of democracy, but I can understand, those fries are tasty.”
Or there was that time on the ferry between Victoria and the Mainland when the captain announced there were whales off the port bow. “When I got out there, there were no whales, only a group of hippies smoking a huge bong.”
Edwards likes to read local papers in advance of the show to give the audience a taste of some local humour — from an outsider’s perspective.
“It’s fun to take what you can from the local news. Night to night, show to show, the show changes — I don’t know about substantially, but maybe ... a bit,” he says with a chuckle.
This will be his last show in Victoria for a while, as he’s planning to sequester himself in a remote mountain top cabin to begin writing new material.
“I need to revamp, revitalize and get (the show) all brand spanking again. I used to go to the library, but it can be a little litter-boxy at times.” M