Spring schtick: Metro Vancouver comedy events that will put some laughs in your life this season
From commentary on obscure VHS tapes found in dumpsters to a big-name love-fuelled performance, local offerings will have you in stitches
Ronnie Chieng is among the comedians headlining Just for Laughs Vancouver 2022.
LOOKING FOR A laugh? The local comedy scene has you covered. Here are just a few of the shows taking place this spring—by no means an exhaustive list—for you to get your LOL fix.
The Found Footage Festival.
The Found Footage Festival
March 12 at the Rio Theatre
The Found Footage Festival showcases footage from obscure and unintentionally funny videos found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters all across the U.S., with live commentary and where-are-they-now updates from founders Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (The Colbert Report).
It all began in 1991, when the pair discovered a training video called “Inside and Outside Custodial Duties” at a McDonald’s in their home state of Wisconsin. Since then, they have collected countless “strange, outrageous and profoundly stupid videos”. Pickett, a writer/director, and Prueher, a former researcher at The Late Show with David Letterman, directed the award-winning documentary Dirty Country.
In Volume 9 of the ridiculously hilarious FFF, Pickett and Prueher give a live guided tour of their latest VHS finds, including the 1988 Miss Junior America Wisconsin pageant, a mysterious tape labelled “bonion sergery,” home movies taken at a Canadian hose factory, and an exercise video called “Skiercise!”
Ty Boissonault.
Comedy Ring Parts Unknown
1641 Venables Street
Raw, uncensored comedy by Vancouver talent, including Hector Rivas, Steev Letts, Jon Gagnon, Robert Peng, Marito Lopez, and more is on the menu. Hosted by comedian-musician Ty Boissonault.
Roy Wood Jr. Photo by Nicol Biesek
Just for Laughs Vancouver
May 25 to 29, various venues
The sixth edition of the comedy festival (formerly called JFL NorthWest) features headliners such as Nicole Byer, Marc Maron, Roy Wood Jr., Andrew Santino, and Maria Bamford, to name just a few.
Some of the shows will take part outside of the May dates but still under the fest’s umbrella, including Ronny Chieng’s Hope You Get Rich Tour on March 31. A correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Chieng starred in the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians.
Melanie Rose.
Melanie Rose at Yuk Yuk’s Surrey
March 19 at Elements Casino Surrey
Yuk Yuk’s is back, now in Surrey, with a full slate of regular shows up and running through spring and beyond. Comedic fireball and divorced mother of four Melanie Rose hits the stage March 19 with tales of marriage, break-up, past drug addiction and mental health issues, always finding the humour within. Other comedians coming up include Ryan Williams, Sebastien Bourgault; check out Yuk Yuk’s On-Tour: Coquitlam for other ongoing events from the beloved nationwide club.
Marito Lopez.
Los Jefes
March 30 at Mangos Kitchen Bar
Funny fellow Hector Rivas produces the stand-up show featuring Salvadorian comedian Marito “da God” Lopez, who will be the boss of bosses as he hosts a cavalcade of comedic talent. A regular at Just For Laughs, Lopez will be joined by fellow ancouver comics Robert Peng, Nancy Ho, and Milton Ng along with Juno nominated stand-up comedian, Andrea Jin. Headlining is Tokyo-born punchline machine Yumi Nagashima.
Shaun Majumder The LOVE Tour
May 13 at the Massey Theatre
The Massey Theatre and Laughter Zone 101 present Shaun Majumder with his new show, LOVE, flipping the narrative on his 2019 effort, HATE, which was about the rise of Trumpism and hatred. The former cast member of This Hour Has 22 Minutes has had his own Comedy Central Presents special and has appeared on 24, Cedric the Entertainer Presents and in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, among tons of other shows. Splitting his time between Los Angeles, Halifax, and Newfoundland, Majumder has hosted three seasons of the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival TV series.
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