James a real standup guy
Comedian bringing Full Throttle show to Showplace on Feb. 22, April 25
Nothing jazzes comedian Ron James more than stepping onto a stage and tucking into a wave of laughter.
And he’ll be tucking into that wave twice in Peterborough this year.
James brings his show, Full Throttle, to Showplace on Feb. 22 and April 25. It starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are about $60.
The comedic veteran will cut a wide swath through contemporary culture, covering everything from generational change and Netflix to Donald Trump and Canadian politics.
For those who don’t know James’s work, he describes his style as “a marriage of the smart and the silly.”
The Toronto resident has been making his mark in standup comedy over the last 20 years.
His last show in Peterborough was at Showplace in October 2015, when he filmed a New Year’s Eve special for CBC.
James has shot nine, one-hour specials for CBC and created and stared in two television series, Blackfly and The Ron James Show.
But where the rubber really hits the road for the Nova Scotia native is working live.
“I think anybody who’s ever worked live in this capacity knows what a joy it is,” James said.
The 60-year-old dove into standup when he returned to Canada after living in the United States. He’d spent time acting there following a 10-year run with Second City.
The new direction changed his life, allowing him to make sense of the world he was walking through.
“That’s the luxury and reward comedians have is to make sense of the chaos we’re all walking through in the language of laughs.”
Over the last two decades, James has become quite comfortable on stage, which wasn’t the case initially. He recently saw an old clip shot during his early years and was amazing how nervous he looked.
But with time and experience, James honed his skill set and mastered his “trade.”
“It takes a long time to be good.” When he’s not on stage, James is busy penning his first book, All Over the Map. It’ll be released in the fall of 2019.
“It’s an everyman’s look at life and trenches of show business, where I’m from, where I’ve been and where I’m going.”