Vancouver's Kwasi Thomas headlines the Underground Comedy Railroad's 10th anniversary West Coast showcase
Canada’s first all-Black comedy tour is being hosted by the Unknown Comedy Club as part of Black History Month
Kwasi Thomas. Photo via Facebook
Rodney Ramsey. Photo via da Vinci Talent
The Unknown Comedy Club presents Underground Comedy Railroad: West Coast on February 25 at 8 pm online.
THE UNDERGROUND COMEDY RAILROAD, Canada’s first all-Black comedy tour, is marking its 10th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it’s presenting a virtual showcase—and a radical reframing of comedy during the era of COVID-19.
Hosted by the Unknown Comedy Club, self-described as “the world’s first true virtual comedy club”, the Underground Comedy Railroad has travelled across Canada for Black History Month since 2012.
Created by comedians Daniel Woodrow and Rodney Ramsey (who has appeared on Kevin Hart’s LOL Channel and BBC’s Summer Comedy event) the Underground Comedy Railroad offers a unique and intimate platform to stream live comedy straight to people’s living rooms that’s unlike Zoom or Skype.
Among the performers for the West Coast showcase (there’s an East Coast version as well on February 26) is Vancouver-based comedian, actor, and rapper Kwasi Thomas, a long-time friend of Ramsey’s.
“Rodney Ramsey is a very imaginative guy,” Thomas says in an interview with Stir. “His online productions have been really big, and he’s entertained some really great shows online.
“It’s actually quite incredible the way it’s set up,” he says of Unknown Comedy Club’s virtual platform. “No, it’s not a live room, but you can see everyone watching, you can hear them as well. We have a producer that mutes and unmutes people, so that if your dog starts barking or your kid starts crying, the set won’t be interrupted. We decided to present it online to keep up with the times. A lot of people are still on the fence about going out now that restrictions have been lifted.”
Thomas, who’s also an actor, has been a stand-up comedian for over two decades. From humble beginnings performing at an open mic alongside Ramsey, he is now featured on Crave’s Pillow Talk, a sketch-dramedy featuring a Canadian cast, and the sci-fi drama Snowpiercer.
“In my childhood, I was in every church play I could get on, and then in school I started doing drama classes,” he says. “I started doing stand-up comedy to figure out how to turn it into a career. I’ve always learned by doing, just throwing myself in the pool and seeing what I’m capable of. Rodney introduced me to the industry, and after our first open mic it was no looking back.”
Thomas—who issued an album last fall called Theatrical Release—notes that he writes and performs comedy to “better understand the society we all encounter”.
“I don’t just want to make people laugh and then have them forget everything I said,” he says. “It’d be a waste to have the attention of so many people per show and not say anything important. These days I don’t think you’re serving the purpose well if you’re not sending people home with something to discuss.”
“I hope everyone has a great time, I hope everyone sees it as an option of something to do with their evening,” Thomas says. “I hope I can send everyone home with some topics to think about, something to laugh about, and just open everyone’s eyes a bit more to the need for Black entertainment spaces in this industry.”
“It's always been important to have Black spaces, Black entertainment, Black everything,” he says. “Where would we be culturally without Black people? We’re doing what we’ve always been doing, but now people are starting to pay attention.”
Joining Thomas for the tour’s West Coast showcase—which will be hosted by Ramsey—are Sterling Scott from Edmonton, George Rivard from the Yukon, and Winnipeg’s Emmanuel Lomuro, with special guest Tamara Shevon. The Underground Comedy Railroad’s 10th-anniversary tour will also include a stand-up comedy album, available on Comedy Records, being released on March 4,
For more information, see the Unknown Comedy Club.
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