REFLECTING THE TRUTH
Comedian tells his immigration story in ‘Chris Gibbs – A Legal Alien’
Comedian tells his immigration story in ‘Chris Gibbs – A Legal Alien’
A popular piece of advice often given to authors is “write your own truth”.
Actor/comedian Chris Gibbs has taken this advice to heart.
He has written his personal story and turned it into a standup comedy show.
“It’s my little truth. I don’t do anything important enough to have a capital letter,” laughs Gibbs, who is on P.E.I. this week, sharing his immigration story in “Chris Gibbs – A Legal Alien”, a stand-up show, at Victoria Playhouse, beginning today and running until Sept. 8.
Jokes aside, telling his tale has been freeing.
“It’s a great experience, I enjoy connecting with the audience.”
“A Legal Alien”, is about his journey to Canada from Britain. It’s also about all the things he’s observed about Canadians along the way.
“It’s like showing (the audience) a mirror and going, ‘hey, this is what you look like to me.” It’s about coming from outside and getting to see something.”
For example, he finds Canadians to be very positive.
“There’s also a confidence and a welcoming friendliness that I personally try to follow.”
On the flip side, the most unusual thing he’s witnessed since coming to Canada is people telling him to drop his accent.
“That’s a really weird one. In England, you might put on an accent. But it’s the idea that people think my accent is an additional thing. The joke in the show is it’s tempting to go, ‘wow, never thought about doing that before and speaking normally (without an accent) as you say, ‘this is easier’.
“So, if I do suddenly start speaking in an American accent, I’m definitely putting that on,” says the comedian, with another laugh.
At Victoria Playhouse, executive director Emily Smith is thrilled to have Gibbs back at the theatre.
“Chris is a very talented performer – hilarious, versatile, not afraid to make fun of himself. He has been on our stage three times in the past, and our audiences always love him,” Smith says.
Gibbs, who is from Britain, first came to Canada in 1995. Since then he’s moved to Canada permanently, married a Canadian, Nicole Barnett, and
become a father to a Canadian.
In his new country, his first jobs ranged from teaching English as a second language to one couple from Venezuela to being a corporate coach trainer. Because he had been a street performer in Britain, he dedicated his after-hours to performing in fringe festivals and comedy rooms.
In recent years he has appeared in two CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival galas, starred in the indie Canadian feature film, “Run Robot Run” and toured his prize-winning show, “Like Father, Like Son? Sorry”, across the country.
In fact, it was touring that show that inspired him to research and write “Chris Gibbs
– A Legal Alien”.
“In the prairies and the rest of Canada, every time there was a little bit about moving to Canada, I could see people going, ‘oh, I want to hear more about this.’ But I thought, ‘no, in this show I’m talking about my son. So, that’s when I decided that I should do a show about what it’s to move here.
“Canada has also prompted me to try to be a better person. And the show is about that, too.”