Local anglo comics
Have been hitting the road for good, to the dismay of those who remain.
On the surface, the local comedy scene might look like it’s thriving. This weekend, two local anglo comics, among the best in the land, will be the featured attractions at the city’s two primo comedy clubs. That is a rarity, since club-owners invariably import talent to headline.
But Eman, a headliner for the first time in her hometown (or anywhere else, for that matter) at the Comedyworks, and Mike Paterson, who hits the Comedy Nest, are most mindful that all is not what it appears to be in the city. There has been a major exodus of English-speaking Montreal comics over the past few years, and it is picking up even more momentum now.
Gone and going are such stellar talents as Steve Patterson, Ali Hassan, Dan Bingham, Faisal Butt, Massimo, Jon Malanos, Mo Arora and Robby Hoffman — and all to Toronto. Rumoured to be leaving for other parts is the hugely popular DeAnne Smith.
As much as she loves the city, Eman, too, is contemplating a change of venue in a year or two. “It’s very sad that so much talent has left and is continuing to leave,” notes Eman, who was born in Kuwait but moved to Montreal when she was 10.
“It’s amazing that the clubs have two locals headlining this weekend, and I’m really grateful. But the truth of the matter is that the clubs probably have no budget because it’s the end of the summer. So it’s not even that flattering.”
The truth of the matter is also that both Eman and Paterson could thrive elsewhere. There are also abundant reasons to stay put.
“Look, a comic can afford to live in Montreal, unlike other cities. It’s a great place,” she says. “But there is limited opportunity for comics, not just here but throughout the country. That’s why I’m debating going to New York. I did Hannibal Buress’s Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and I was on a lineup with Chris Rock. That was a thrill. The only reservation I have is that it’s really, really expensive. I’d have to take another job to survive there — unlike here.”
COMEDIAN EMAN
Those comics who have bolted to Toronto from here — and elsewhere — do it more for the greater stage time they will get. “A comic can really grow in Toronto. The possibilities are obviously better,” she adds. “In Montreal, it’s more limited. Look at those who really prosper here: Sugar Sammy and Mike Paterson. Their success is a result of cracking the French market in Quebec. And I don’t think that even DeAnne, who has done well here and in Australia, is able to make a stable career out of that alone.”
Paterson doesn’t dispute the fact that working in English and French has really helped not just to sustain his career, but to have it flourish as well. “English comics complain
“A comic can really grow in Toronto. In Montreal, it’s more limited.”
there is just not enough work here to keep them going. I don’t see it that way. I’m now doing 50 per cent of my shows in French.”
Paterson, 37, may not speak Molière-style à la Sugar Sammy, but the man with the mullet manages to keep franco audiences throughout the province in stitches with his fractured French — much like franco comic Sébastien Bourgault does with anglo audiences with his fractured English.
“My French is pretty horrible — I learned it in a bowling alley,” says Paterson, who, according to legend, took a few errant bowling balls to the cranium as a pinsetter. “But I’m trying, and audiences are responding. Sugar Sammy just put me in his sitcom as a real estate agent, and I appear regularly on En avant La Musique Plus with Réal Béland.”
Paterson, who will be doing shtick in English and French at the Comedy Nest, bemoans the loss of so many of his comedy cronies to Toronto.
“That really bites. I counted up to 12 comics who have left. Now I’m losing my best friend, Massimo. My girlfriend says that I should get over it, but it’s just so stupid, because Montreal is so unique.”
Eman, 33, will be representing Montreal in Sirius XM’s Next Top Comic Battle at Toronto’s JFL42 on Sept. 19.
She jokes that if she beats out wits from other parts of the country, she will earn $15,000. Or far more than what the average Canadian comic earns in a year.
Eman — who has done comedy festivals from New York to Jordan — feels that having Just for Laughs based here doesn’t help the cause of local comics, despite the fact that it generally conscripts a few anglo Montrealers every year.
“I do understand why Just for Laughs doesn’t hire more of us, and that’s because locals can catch us throughout the year. Still, it would be nice if we could get more exposure — so that industry players from outside the city could see us, too.
“Look, I’m so appreciative of what I’ve been able to do here in the city in just seven years in the business,” she says. “I feel like I’ve accomplished plenty. But I feel I can accomplish a lot more, too. And hopefully do better monetarily in the process.”
But Eman and Paterson do believe Montreal is one of the best breeding grounds around for comedy. “Really!” Paterson blurts. “Where else can you find a government that doesn’t notice potholes but keeps bringing old language issues to the forefront? It is, to laugh. For both anglos and francos.”