GIGGLE CITY: Dummies take the heat for Damien James
It’s not the comic crossing the line – it’s his puppets! The peculiar art of ventriloquism may seem like a crutch, a prop, a gimmick that can hold you back from the true pursuit of comedy, but it’s actually very freeing. You can get away with murder up there – as long as you blame […]
GIGGLE CITY: Harland Williams comes from a happy place
Like many Hollywood stars whose stand-up comedy made them into a Hollywood star, Harland Williams still goes out on the road to do stand-up comedy, from time to time. He does it to pay the bills, to maintain the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed, but that’s not all. “I love it,” he says. […]
Edmonton Comedy Festival to ‘keep it clean’
It has been said that it’s easier to clean up a dirty joke than it is to dirty up a clean one. Or is it the other way around? Never mind. The point we’re trying to make here is that the Edmonton Comedy Festival, happening Oct. 19-23 in venues across the greater metropolitan area, is […]
GIGGLE CITY: Brian Stollery has a short attention span
In the old days, Henny Youngman could fire off one-liners – “take my wife … please!” – and no one would wonder if the poor guy was having marriage troubles, or expect him to get into some deep comi-philosophical routine about the battle of the sexes. It was a joke and that was that. It […]
GIGGLE CITY: Debra DiGiovanni laughs at herself
Comedians teeing off on themselves is a time honoured tradition. Black guys talk about being black, fat guys talk about being fat, women talk about being women – know yourself, write what you know, right? Debra DiGiovanni has especially made a career of self-deprecation, sometimes to the point, she says, that audience members feel sorry […]
GIGGLE CITY: It’s awesome being Howie Miller, says Howie Miller
Is it wrong for a white guy to laugh at a native stand-up comedian telling jokes that riff on native stereotypes? That’s a difficult question … so we won’t get into it here. Just say that Howie Miller’s career on stage, screen and film has come far beyond playing the race card, thanks to a […]
GIGGLE CITY: The Birdmann thinks outside the nest
To atone for banging on Australian street performers who ruin every summer festival in Edmonton (No. 4 on list of Eight Dumb Things About the Fringe), our special guest today is … an Australian street performer! The Birdmann (Trent Baumann) is actually working “inside” at this year’s Edmonton International Fringe Festival, even though his act […]
William Shatner to sing at the Shaw Conference Centre Oct. 23
SHATNERRRRRRRR! Yea, hear the cries from on high and upon on-line chat rooms across the realm – William Shatner is coming to the Shaw Conference Centre on Sunday, Oct. 23. What will the legendary Lord of the Boards be doing, you ask? Why, nothing! Nothing that scads of celebrities before him haven’t done, that is. […]
GIGGLE CITY: Martin Dockery’s Fringe hit The Surprise gets held over
If you talk to kindergarten kids in a museum, you’re a storyteller. If you’re recounting your latest Peruvian safari at the Explorer’s Club, you’re a raconteur. If you tell penis jokes to drunks in a bar, you’re a stand-up comedian. If you do this same thing in a theatre with no jokes, you’re a one-man […]
GIGGLE CITY: Comedian Paul Sveen helps those battling cancer
The healing powers of humour are well-documented. Laughter releases endorphins, nature’s opiates, and allows humans to face tragedy with a little less fear. It’s a cliché to say that comedy is just tragedy plus time, but like a lot of cliches, it’s true. Of the various “types” of comedy gigs Paul Sveen does, that every […]
