AMERICAN ANGST
U.S. comics in need of a laugh
I feel like here, we’re always dealing with a family fight. You guys (in Canada) are the neighbours that have witnessed the whole family fight ... Every once in awhile I just say I’m sick of this and I get to go to your house and have a beer and say, ‘Did you see that sh-t that went down?’
LEWIS BLACK AND KATHLEEN MADIGAN When: 8 p.m., Sept. 9 Where: Conexus Arts Centre
Kathleen Madigan owns a Justin Trudeau T-shirt. Lewis Black does too, although he seems slightly less enthused about it.
This information comes out during a joint interview with the two American comedians to preview their 49th Parallel Tour of Canada. Both have already spent a good deal of time discussing the surreal political happenings in their own country when they are asked about our fearless leader.
Do they have any thoughts about our youthful prime minister?
“Kathleen does, but they are all dirty thoughts,” says Black.
“I am just shallow enough to admit that I do think he is stunning,” says Madigan.
Madigan was enamoured enough to purchase the aforementioned Justin T-shirt on the internet. It features a shirtless Justin, a woman on moose and some geese. She wore it a few nights back during a show in Nashville.
“Nobody knows, but I know I have it on and that’s all that matters,” she says. “And Justin knows I have it on. I know he does. I can feel it.”
Apparently, she liked it so much that she got one for Black.
“You’ll have to wear it one night on stage,” she says.
“I will wear it,” Black promises. “We’ll dress alike,” Madigan says. Whether this will actually happen during the duo’s 10-date tour of Canada, which makes a stop Saturday night at the Conexus Arts Centre, is unclear. But both comedians acknowledge the political climate in the Great White North is much preferable to what is going on in their own country at the moment. Talking about our good-looking PM seems refreshing, Madigan says.
In fact, the unofficial name of this swing through Canada is “seeking asylum.” Black is one of America’s most political comedians, known for his social criticism and edgy “Back in Black” rants on the Daily Show. Madigan, a 28-year standup veteran whom Black routinely describes as “the funniest woman in America,” has been less overtly political in her career. But the current situation in the U.S. under President Donald Trump has been impossible to ignore. Even before he was elected, Madigan felt obliged to talk about him to some degree in her most recent Netflix special, Bothering Jesus, which was filmed before the U.S. election.
“He’s exhausting,” Madigan says. “You can’t even write anything current because he does 20 things by the time you’ve written the joke. It’s Saturday Night Live. It’s Twitter. It’s oversaturated, which is exactly what a narcissist would want. Lewis definitely has to say something, because people come for that. That’s what he’s known for. I don’t have to, I choose to do a little bit. I like to talk about: ‘Because Donald sucked the air out of the room, what are we not talking about?’ I’m choosing to go that route. ‘Here’s the thing we didn’t get to talk about because Donald was insulting Jeb Bush for an hour or little Marco Rubio.’ It’s all about Donald all the time. It’s exhausting.”
“To put it simply, he is the joke,” Black says. “All you can do is say, ‘How can I make this funnier?’ I deal with it as if I’m reading a novel, only it’s live and in front of me. It’s like a novel come to life.”
Even a comedian as well-established as Black, who has made no secret of his left-leaning political views over the decades, gets the odd Trump-supporting dissenter at his American shows. So Canada does seem like a sanctuary for the comedians, a chance to get away from the political noise south of the border.
“You already get it,” Black says. “I don’t have to deal with you being a Democrat or a Republican. Many of you already lean toward socialism and where do I lean? Socialism. So I already feel a camaraderie with you. For me, as a comic, I don’t have to deal with the nonsense of: ‘Boy, oh boy, you’re really a liberal.’ Really? A liberal? Afterwards, they say: ‘I know you’re a liberal, but I still like you.’ I say: ‘You don’t get it, I’m not liberal. I’m psychotic, you idiot. My politics are psychotic. I’m way beyond your worst nightmare.’”
“I feel like here, we’re always dealing with a family fight,” Madigan says. “You guys are the neighbours that have witnessed the whole family fight; the family I’m part of. Every once in awhile I just say I’m sick of this and I get to go to your house and have a beer and say, ‘Did you see that sh-t that went down?’ And you’re like: ‘I know, that’s crazy. Your uncle is a drunk.’”
Black and Madigan met more than 25 years ago on the standup circuit and say they share a similar world view, which is likely to make the long tour-bus trek through Canada more tolerable in the next couple of weeks. As for the shows, they will feature both comedians doing solo sets and some interaction.
“It opens with me taking a bow and arrow, and I shoot an apple off of her head,” Black says.
“And I close with Riverdance,” Madigan adds.