Canadian comics ready for the spotlight at Just For Laughs Vancouver
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Western Canada’s biggest comedy festival is back in town this month, and Just For Laughs Vancouver will have a strong maple flavour this year.
The 10-day comedy festival will feature several Canadian comedians in the extensive lineup of stand-up comics, podcasters, improv and sketch artists, and more.
According to Halifax-born comedian and writer Nathan Macintosh, audiences love the fact that he’s from Canada. Well, most of them.
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“People like Canadians, and when you like someone, it’s easier to connect with them,” said Macintosh, who is bringing his show Down With Tech to Just For Laughs Vancouver on Friday, February 16. “But not everyone, though.
“A guy in Atlantic City booed me once when I mentioned I was from Canada because ‘That’s where the draft dodgers went!’ There’s too much here to break down, but by and large, people like us.”
Nathan Macintosh/Submitted
Other Canadian comedians ready to bring likeable laughs to Vancouver include Andrea Jin, Che Durena, Christina P., and Caroline Rhea.
Homegrown talent will also be showcased in the Best of the West series, presented by SiriusXM. Highlights include Ola Dada’s Black Out Comedy, The Ryan and Amy Show, and lots more.
“I’ve thought about this before, and I believe it’s our humility and position in the world that enables Canadian comedians to connect so well with audiences,” said Jin. “I love Canada, but we are often the observers taking a back seat in many things that happen in the world.
“But that makes us excellent at comedy because it’s what the job is: playing the observer, being self-aware and relatable. Plus, we Canadian comedians have an inferiority complex, so we work harder to try and prove ourselves, which doesn’t hurt.”
Andrea Jin/andreajin.com
Jin has already proved herself in the world of comedy, winning Comedy Album of the Year at the 2021 Juno Awards for Grandma’s Girl. She also performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden and was selected as a New Face at the Just for Laugh’s Montreal Festival.
“Live performance is magic and no amount of technology will ever replace that want and need for us to connect with one another,” shared Jin, who is performing three shows at the Biltmore Cabaret on February 18 and 19.
“Audiences can expect to laugh a lot, learn things about me and the way I see the world, and learn things about themselves that they’d never have arrived at if they didn’t come to my show. So this is quite a bargain for all those things combined.”
Jin also shouted out local comedians Aaron Read, Julie Kim, Graham Clark, and Ivan Decker as performers not to miss at the fest, as well as fellow Juno winner Sophie Buddle, who is a Just For Laughs Vancouver alumni.
Just For Laughs Vancouver
Macintosh is also excited for his upcoming show at the Biltmore and agrees that “being in front of and interacting with a live audience is the best.”
“The festival this year is amazing and has a ton of great Canadian comedians. You can’t go wrong with any of them,” added Macintosh, who has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Conan. “Get out to a show.”
Just For Laughs Vancouver
When: February 15 to 24, 2024
Time: Various showtimes
Where: Multiple venues across Vancouver
Tickets: Various prices, purchase online at jflvancouver.com
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