By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
A performer dubbed “the funniest man in Canada” in a recent review is bringing a mountain of laughs to the South Okanagan this month.
Renowned Canadian comedian and “Just For Laughs” mainstay Derek Edwards will perform at the Venables Theatre on March 14, bringing his latest show, titled “Oxy Moron,” to the stage for a Saturday night full of witty stand-up comedy.
Edwards, from Timmins, Ontario, is currently finishing a set of shows in his home province before setting out for British Columbia. One might say he’s saving the best for last, which is true in more ways than one when you consider not only setting, but current events.
“They’re going to bump the time up this coming Sunday, and then apparently the province has decided no more!” Edwards says, referencing the recent decision to move to permanent daylight time in BC. “And I guess the (residents) raised a ruckus about it.”
Keeping up with current events is just one way Edwards is able to get an understanding of what’s relevant to the audience he’s performing for.
“I love being able to walk through the lobby when I come in, if I get in early, see how things are,” Edwards says. “Just those observations from the lobby of the theatre can get you a long way towards people understanding where you’re coming from, if you take something locally and mess around with it.”
Beyond the aspect of what’s relevant locally, Edwards also consistently prepares for future shows in other ways. He says that one additional way of doing this is through living in the moment of a current show, and evaluating it immediately after it’s finished.
“You could say I’ve put in more than a year because of interaction around the country, to get it fully honed for when I get to Oliver!” he laughs. “But mainly, it’s just going through notes, minor improvements I could make, and it’s just two to three pages, small and written, (so I can say) ‘Oh, yeah, they got a better laugh when I did that, rather than that.”
Edwards has two things he’s looking forward to about visiting the South Okanagan. The nicer weather, compared to Ontario, is a straightforward one, but the second thing has more depth to it.
“The scenery is always uplifting, that close to the mountains and (everything else), it just changes my whole perspective. I spent a summer (in the Rocky Mountains), met my wife in Banff, and the novelty of the mountains never wore off. Every day, it was like ‘oh, my God’.’ So I gotta say, I’m looking forward to the sheer geography of the area.”
Tickets for Derek Edwards’s “Oxy Moron” show, March 14 at 7:30 PM, can be purchased at the Venables Theatre Box Office or online at venablestheatre.ca.
