Russell Peters Gala: Legendary End For A Legendary Fest
The Russell Peters gala was the perfect way to finish my Just For Laughs experience, it was a night full of some of the best laughs I’ve had and I got to see the diversity of material for a few comedians. Of course the place was packed and I doubt there were many people disappointed by the evening. There were many comedians therefore many types of humour were covered in the evening making it a successful night.
Russell Peters acted as a hilarious audience and he did not disappoint. Having watched all of his shows on Netflix, I knew what to expect. He picked on a few audience members, talked about his daughter, and made some hilarious jokes about his Indian heritage. There was an Indian family sitting in front of me and all four of them really enjoyed this part of the show –- which answered my question of whether or not he crossed the line with this type of comedy.
Ruben Paul set us straight about some stereotypes in a creative way. He told jokes about not being poor enough to earn the badge of honour that his childhood neighbours had and what it’s like being Haitian. He was both funny and excellent at dispelling stereotypes which was amazing.
The Aussie Wil Anderson also took part in this gala. Having seen him at his solo stand up show (link) the other day, I figured he would repeat a lot of material. Anderson gave me a happy surprise with additional material, and I laughed and my crush on the guy increased by another increment.
Getting to see the legendary George Wallace was a real treat. He tells the kind of jokes I remember hearing on Comedy Central when I still had to sneak-watch the channel as a kid. He is classically funny and also looks like he could be a super bad-ass grandpa.
http://youtu.be/P-obbeIXsWE
Erin Foley was the only lady-comic of the night and she was truly hilarious. Telling jokes about what it’s like to move to California and realize the health-obsession rumours are true as well as how fun it is to attend a toptional Vegas pool arty at 10am on a Sunday. Her set was one of my favourites of the night.
Godfrey is another comedian I had the chance to see twice at the festival; he hosted Date Night. It felt fitting to have him make me laugh on both the first and last night of my #JFLMTL experience. Like Anderson, he showed diversity in the material he had.
Finally Robert Kelly took to the stage. He was phenomenal. I laughed harder than I could have imagined, especially because his comedy style is not to my usual taste. This is just an example of how comedy can change your expectations with a couple of laughs
Russell Peters’ gala was a fantastic evening of comedy and exemplified the essence of the Just For Laughs festival. It makes me proud to live in a city with such great humour and I’m already anticipating next July.
