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, Canadian hecklers and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Q: What have you noticed about audiences in different countries?
A: I think the Scots and the Canadians share a similar sense of humour. I think I’ve tapped into something here. My stuff is quite anecdotal, quite story-based. Canadians seem to enjoy that.
Q: There’s a video of you performing in Montreal, and an audience member corrects you for using the wrong term (“cathedral” instead of “basilica”). That seems like a particularly Canadian form of heckling, to correct the comedian.
A: I’ve had a few heckles on this tour as well, where people have corrected me. They do tend to correct you. They don’t 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’m quite up to date. I’ve done quite a bit of research and reading before this tour. So far, I haven’t made any mistakes that anyone’s corrected me on. People are going to agree or disagree regardless on whether you’ve gotten something right or not. I’ve been OK so far in terms of the characters involved and what they’ve done.
Q: Without getting into the weeds too much, with this new show, Age of Fools, is it important that you read the day’s headlines?
A: Well, firstly, “getting into the weeds” 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’m in. What happens with this tour is I’ll 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’s a more Canadian-based experience. Ostensibly, it’s about the time that we’re living in now, from 2016 until now. There’s political stuff, but also environmental stuff, all kinds of stuff. But it’s all anecdotal. It doesn’t feel heavy.
Q: Is there anything we should know about Scottish politics?
A: I’ve 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’ll get. And I might give a little back-story. I’ve got a bit about Scottish independence, and that’s worked really well.
Q: You started out at the Edinburgh Fringe. How important has the festival been to you?
A: It’s the craft fair of comedy for anyone living in the U.K. Everything I’ve done has come out of the Edinburgh Festival. All the invitations I’ve gotten to go to Australia and Canada and America are a result of people seeing me in Edinburgh. So it’s got a lot of history and a lot of good memories. And I’m one of the rare comedians who doesn’t leave the city at the end of August, because it’s where I live. I stay for the tidy-up.
