Comic relief for Cape Breton
Derek Edwards bringing his cheer with Sydney show on April 4
One of Canada’s best-known funny guys is returning to Cape Breton next week.
Derek Edwards is bringing his new show, “Alls I’m Saying” to the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney on April 4. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
In a recent interview with TC Media, the comedian said he hopes the show will provide an antidote to some of the negative news that we’ve been hearing, particularly from the United States.
“Positive energy, that’s the key …. So wish me luck,” said Edwards, during a telephone interview.
Here’s what he had to say:
: What are Canadians laughing about these days?
A: “It’s not what they’re laughing at, it’s who they’re laughing at. Take, for instance, Doug Stanhope and Bill Burr, two of the terrific performers I’ve seen over the past few months. They bring with them whatever baggage is on their mind at the time. That night it was a (certain) neighbourhood borough of
Boston and skydiving. And folks (in the audience) just got on the train with them and had a good chuckle. That always gives us, regular comic folks, hope that with enough salesmanship, hard work and polish we’ll get a laugh, eventually, anyway.”
Q: What inspired you, a native of Timmons, Ont., to get into comedy almost 30 years ago?
A: “Everybody that comes into their own has a hot night at a kitchen party at some point. You happen to be standing next to the fridge, you happen to make a couple of cracks. Everybody laughs. Now you’ve got a bit of the attention. And you feel this wonderful, pleasant blanket of comfort. I’m sure it’s what lures so many comics into the notion that it would be a neat way to try and make rent.”
Q: What are your connections to the Maritimes?
A: “I spent 18 summers on Prince Edward Island. I also have relatives and in-laws there. We stayed at Seven Mile Bay and, over the space of three years, I watched the Confederation Bridge get built. It was a slow-motion kind of thing. I can look at the pictures of the kids playing on the beach and say, ‘there it is’ when it was just the support beams and ‘there it is’, when some of it was paved.’ It was also great that they built a Tim Hortons just an eightminute drive away because there were so many people working on that thing.”