ON STAGE
What: Danny Bhoy
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $49.25-$55.50 from the Royal Theatre box office (250-386-6121) or rrmts.bc.ca; $40 at the door
Known for his sharp, observational storytelling, Danny Bhoy is a frequent visitor to Canada, where he regularly sells out shows. The 44-year-old Scottish comedian is currently on tour with a new show, Age of Fools. We talked to him about the show, 91原创 hecklers and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Q: What have you noticed about audiences in different countries?
A: I think the Scots and the 91原创s share a similar sense of humour. I think I鈥檝e tapped into something here. My stuff is quite anecdotal, quite story-based. 91原创s seem to enjoy that.
Q: There鈥檚 a video of you performing in Montreal, and an audience member corrects you for using the wrong term (鈥渃athedral鈥� instead of 鈥渂asilica鈥�). That seems like a particularly 91原创 form of heckling, to correct the comedian.
A: I鈥檝e had a few heckles on this tour as well, where people have corrected me. They do tend to correct you. They don鈥檛 let things pass. And in fact, that was a TV recording. Even the fact that it was on TV, and they could have let it go, they still felt the need to correct me.
Q: And heaven forbid you get something wrong about our politics.
A: I鈥檓 quite up to date. I鈥檝e done quite a bit of research and reading before this tour. So far, I haven鈥檛 made any mistakes that anyone鈥檚 corrected me on. People are going to agree or disagree regardless on whether you鈥檝e gotten something right or not. I鈥檝e been OK so far in terms of the characters involved and what they鈥檝e done.
Q: Without getting into the weeds too much, with this new show, Age of Fools, is it important that you read the day鈥檚 headlines?
A: Well, firstly, 鈥済etting into the weeds鈥� has a different meaning in Canada now from the last time I toured (laughs). Secondly, yes. There are certain bits that have worked everywhere. I pepper it with local or national references according to what country I鈥檓 in. What happens with this tour is I鈥檒l get to a new country and do a week of practice shows, which I did in Toronto, where I develop the show around that country, so it feels like it鈥檚 a more 91原创-based experience. Ostensibly, it鈥檚 about the time that we鈥檙e living in now, from 2016 until now. There鈥檚 political stuff, but also environmental stuff, all kinds of stuff. But it鈥檚 all anecdotal. It doesn鈥檛 feel heavy.
Q: Is there anything we should know about Scottish politics?
A: I鈥檝e dropped a lot of the more specific Scottish stuff for this tour. I did the same in Australia. But I keep the stuff I know that you鈥檒l get. And I might give a little back-story. I鈥檝e got a bit about Scottish independence, and that鈥檚 worked really well.
Q: You started out at the Edinburgh Fringe. How important has the festival been to you?
A: It鈥檚 the craft fair of comedy for anyone living in the U.K. Everything I鈥檝e done has come out of the Edinburgh Festival. All the invitations I鈥檝e gotten to go to Australia and Canada and America are a result of people seeing me in Edinburgh. So it鈥檚 got a lot of history and a lot of good memories. And I鈥檓 one of the rare comedians who doesn鈥檛 leave the city at the end of August, because it鈥檚 where I live. I stay for the tidy-up.
