>>PREVIEW
DEREK EDWARDS: SLEEPLESS IN GOGAMA
Wednesday, March 14
Jack Singer Concert Hall (Epcor Centre)
A show business sensation from Timmins, Ontario is coming to the Jack Singer Concert Hall on March 14.
Oh, wait a minute! Hold on, not that show business sensation from Timmins – Shania Twain, who has sold a gazillion records and played to huge stadium crowds around the globe. No, the star from Timmins I am talking about is comedian Derek Edwards.
This lanky, insightful everyman has won rave reviews, comedy industry awards and a growing legion of fans for his hilariously dry takes on the absurdities of everyday life. Now, admittedly, there is a bit of a gap in the level of notoriety between Twain and Edwards. It’s an issue that the comic has been known to address hilariously in his act. But that fame chasm could be closing. While Twain is laying low with no new album or music video anywhere in sight, Edwards is getting out there and building momentum by tirelessly touring his native land.
Prior to beginning the current western leg of his Sleepless in Gogama tour, Edwards describes his excited anticipation. "I have a number of friends and people out west that I don’t see very much," he says. "Some of them are from the comedy circuit and some are just buddies. I’ll be rubbing shoulders with these folks, so I am looking forward to the tour on that level alone. It’s also a pretty wild thing to work the soft seat theatre circuit. It’s a pretty new thing to me."
A battle-tested veteran of the comedy club scene, Edwards is adapting to the more controlled environment of "soft seat" concert-hall venues. While many comics can’t wait to crawl out of the nightclub scene, Edwards has great affection for it. "There’s a lot to be said for the clubs," he says. "It’s where you learn. It’s kind of fun to go back. It’s like returning to an old high school.
"There are insane distractions in a club," he adds. "People are getting up, there’s waitresses moving around, and there’s always, like, this loud machine making margaritas or something right at a punch line."
The veteran comic feels once you’ve learned to get laughs in that sort of distraction-filled, sink-or-swim environment, you can pretty much ply your standup trade anywhere.
No matter what sort of stage you’re playing, Edwards learned long ago that hecklers and other unruly audience members can surface at any time. He’s learned to take them in stride and can’t even imagine losing it on stage as former Seinfeld star Michael Richards did with a couple of African American audience members in November of last year.
Of the now-infamous Richards tirade Edwards says, "That was beyond anything I have ever seen before. I understand that it can be a bit grating if someone is continually talking over you when you’re trying out some brand new stuff. But holy smokes! To overreact like that, you’d be better off to just put the microphone back in the stand and say, ‘Well, thanks to those who did listen and I hope everyone but the people at this table have a good night.’"
Maybe Richards is just not as wise or levelheaded as the second most famous entertainer from Timmins, Ontario. |
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