COMEDIANS HEAD TO HUDSON FOR MINI-FEST
And Ciné Gael continues unearthing the finest Irish films we’d otherwise never see
Up until about a decade back, one of the highlights of the Just for Laughs festival was the Montreal Experience series — showcases for local comics, both known and up-and-coming, hosted by radio personalities Ted Bird and Terry DiMonte.
In the years since then, however, even the most rabid fans of Montreal wits needed a microscope to find Montreal-centric JFL spectacles, which were invariably held late at night and in smaller, more ramshackle venues.
Well, we now have a reasonable facsimile. Except it’s not part of Just for Laughs, it doesn’t take place in the summer and it’s not even in Montreal. Details.
On that note, say hey to the Hudson Brouhaha, a two-night, four-show festival featuring the biggest names on the local comedy scene. The laughs are slated for Friday and Saturday at the Hudson Village Theatre.
Bird will host the Friday early performance, the Gala Show, and will let loose in a standup capacity in the early Saturday presentation, the Date Show. Local faves like Derek Seguin, Joey Elias, David Pryde, Gino Durante, Peter J. Radomski and Darren Henwood are also among the 21 performers who will make the comedy commute to Hudson.
It’s no accident that Saturday’s closing performance is dubbed the 514 Comics Show. About the only exception to the homegrown theme is veteran 416 comic Kenny Robinson, who will headline the Friday late presentation, the Despicable Show — the Hudson Brouhaha’s answer to JFL’s Nasty Show. At the other end of the spectrum, Robinson will also crack wise in the Date Show.
The Hudson Brouhaha is the brainwave of part-time impresario and full-time comedy aficionado Ken Doran and standup Leonard Yelle, who are co-directors of this mini-fest.
“Hey, Hudson can use the laughs, especially after a few municipal scandals in the last couple of years,” Doran cracks.
“Either that, or they could use some financial support to pay the taxes as a result of those scandals,” Yelle pipes in. “It’s just too bad the posh seats at the Hudson Village Theatre — or as we call it, Centaur West — don’t come equipped with seatbelts, to stop audiences from rolling in the aisles with laughter.”
The Hudson Village Theatre was the first venue Yelle played six years back after completing Elias’s comedy class.
“Over a couple of beers, I had the idea to do a comedy festival, but at a cabane à sucre,” Yelle says. “Then Ken came in with his ideas, and I knew I had a partner in crime who would know how to run this thing.”
And not in some sticky cabane à sucre. “People might not realize this, but comedy is well supported in Hudson, particularly at places like Cunninghams Pub. There has been an excellent groundswell since the Brouhaha was announced,” says Doran, who is involved with the St. Patrick’s Day/Week/Month festivities in Hudson.
Apart from the more wellknown comics appearing, Yelle is particularly high on the fastrising Sara Quinn; former sports broadcaster Chantal Desjardins; twisted musician Leighland Beckman; Pantelis, “the pride and joy of Park Ex”; Harrison Weinreb, “the future of Montreal comedy”; and, of course, “myself, the original Mile Ender.”
Ambitious as this project is, Doran and Yelle plan to follow through with similar spectacles elsewhere in the Montreal area.
“There is just so much anglo comedy talent out there in and around Montreal,” Doran says. “Our goal is to provide an outlet for our local comics, as well as to provide an opportunity for people to see just how strong the local scene really is.”
“And I’m just so tired of seeing all my comedy friends here moving to Toronto,” Yelle says. “Hopefully, this type of festival can help sustain the scene and keep our comedians here.”
Ciné Gael, one of the most enduring and popular Montreal film series, is back for its 26th season of presenting Irish gems that would otherwise never show up at a multiplex in town.
Ciné Gael began on a high note in 1993 with a presentation of The Commitments, the feel-good musical dramedy based on the Roddy Doyle novel. Over the years, the festival has attracted the likes of famed Irish actor Stephen Rea and Lenny Abrahamson, director of the Oscarnominated Room, who presented his first three films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
This year’s series was launched Jan. 12 with The Journey, a drama focusing on the improbable friendship between former IRA leader Martin McGuinness and British loyalist Ian Paisley.
The next presentation, The Peacemaker, is a documentary dealing with conflict resolution and alcoholism; it will be screened Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Concordia’s J.A. de Sève Cinema. Noted Montreal mystery writer and lawyer Peter Kirby will be the evening’s guest speaker, while the doc’s director James Demo will be on hand via Skype to take audience questions following the presentation.
Other highlights of the series include Sanctuary (Feb. 9), a remarkable film about a couple with an array of challenges, featuring a cast of actors with disabilities; and Older Than Ireland (Feb. 22), a whimsical and sometimes poignant documentary about turning 100, as seen through the eyes of 30 Irish men and women aged 100 or over.