GERRY DEE
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Wednesday, April 26, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $58.50-$209.25 from the Royal McPherson box office at 250-386-6121 or
Why: Toronto comic Gerry Dee has officially embraced the sitcom world, despite a busy stand-up career that brings him to the Royal Theatre on Wednesday. Dee, who rose to fame with Mr. D, his successful TV comedy about a hapless high school teacher, is back on the small screen with the FOX comedy Animal Control, which puts his deadpan delivery to good use. He’s well past the 20-year as a stand-up comedian, and regularly plays to sold-out houses. Count on him to bring the funny when he returns to the Royal next week.
CONCERT OF THE BIRDS
Where: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 924 Douglas St.
When: Saturday, April 22, 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45)
Tickets: $27.90-$31.00 from or 250-882-5058
Why: Who better than La Rêveuse, a French six-piece dedicated to music of the 17th and 18th centuries, to close out the 2022-23 concert season for Early Music Society of the Islands? The ensemble was a hit during its previous two Victoria appearances (in 2015 and 2018), and they are on tap to deliver a selection of music by French Baroque composers (Camille Saint-Saëns, Jean-Philippe Rameau, François Couperin, Maurice Ravel) with a program specifically selected to commemorate Spring. Fittingly, bird songs will be recreated within the music, via period instruments ranging from flute and theorbo to harpsichord.
MARY WALZ READING
Where: Hotel Zed, 3110 Douglas St.
When: Tuesday, April 25, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $2 at the door
Why: Mary Walz balances her passion for writing with her job as a housekeeper at the Accent Inn/Hotel Zed locations in Victoria, so it makes sense the Sidney resident would return to the latter for the launch of her new young adult novel, Stormbrewer. The book is the second instalment in Walz’s long-planned Firebrand trilogy, the first volume of which arrived in 2021 after five years of gestating. Fans of magical fantasy worlds take note.
