As he was getting ready for a tour of the Maritimes, comedian Derek Edwards was asked about his new show, which will be presented at Th’YARC in Yarmouth Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Yarmouth is one of 11 stops on the tour, which is scheduled to start Oct 23 in Mabou and wrap up Nov. 4 in Saint John.
Edwards was doing a phone interview from his home in Toronto when he was queried about his latest offering, which is titled So Here’s the Thing ...
“It’s on a giant sheet of bristle board right now,” he said. “I’ve got arrows and circles, this should lead into this ... I want to keep it as topical as I can without getting dark on things. I want it to be goofy, a fun night, therapeutic for everybody.”
When the Vanguard last spoke to Edwards – in 2017, prior to an early-spring Maritime tour – he talked about needing to do something to help people deal with what was happening south of the border, where only a few months had passed since the new president was elected.
Two-and-a-half years later, you can be sure Edwards again will offer a quirky perspective on what’s going on in the world.
While part of him might like to get away from all the headlines – particularly the political craziness in the U.S. – he said he’s found there’s a void of sorts when he does get away from it.
“I went to a cabin ... for a week,” he said. “It’s like you miss it, you know?”
Edwards has performed in Yarmouth several times.
“This will probably be number five coming up, if memory serves, and it rarely does,” he said.
A Just for Laughs veteran, Edwards said he keeps pretty busy.
“It picks up in the fall,” he said. “I just worked a charity thing out in Windsor (Ontario), which is about four-and-a-half hours from the east end of Toronto, so I got in late last night. If I sound a little off, that’s a lack of sleep. Please forgive me.”
He sounded fine.
Once described by Rick Mercer as the “funniest man in Canada,” Edwards has been doing comedy for three decades or so.
“I’m starting to get the hang of it,” he said.
Originally from Timmins, Ontario, Edwards has, over the years, covered myriad topics in his standup routine, from shaving to banking to owning a dog – among many others – offering a unique comedic take on all of them.
Since his last time in Yarmouth, he hit the big six-oh.
“I’ve turned the corner on 62,” he said. “I’ve moseyed around that bend.”
His Oct. 29 show in Yarmouth is one of six Nova Scotia stops on this fall’s tour of the Maritimes. Mabou is first on Oct. 23, followed by Sydney Oct. 24 and Pictou Oct. 25. He will perform in Liverpool Oct. 30 and in Halifax Nov. 1. Tickets are $48, plus service fees.
