With an increasingly polarized political landscape, comedian Ron James says politics is definitely a great source of material, but he likes to poke fun at everyone.
“I'm going to hit all parties equally,” said James, who brings his “Full Throttle” stand-up comedy tour to Laurentian University's Fraser Auditorium March 23.
“I'm an equal opportunity offender.”
In Canada, with a population of just 37 million, James said he doesn't have the luxury of just setting his sights on one group of people.
“If you were a political comedian in the States, and half the country didn't like you, you would still have seven times the population of Canada thinking you're brilliant,” he said.
“It's a question of appreciation for the audience, too. I don't want to sit in the theatre and have somebody on the stage tell me I'm on the wrong side when everybody makes their own opinions based on their life story.”
His comedy isn't just about politics, though. James said he also focuses on “the struggles, the joys, the hopes and dreams of the everyman.”
“I think it's a comedian’s job to carry the knapsack on the life journey for awhile, to lighten the load for the rest of the people,” he said.
“Laughing is good. It's healthy for you, and I get great joy when I see people laughing, not leaving the theatre.”
The Nova Scotia comedian spent some time in LA in the early 1990s — as he calls it, “another lifetime” – trying to make it in American show biz.
After getting tired of small roles and waiting for his agent to call him, James returned home about 25 years ago, where he's become a staple on Canadian television and in the country's standup comedy scene.
“I decided to spring my trapline and blaze my trail here,” he said.
It was a good choice. In that time, he's created two television series, had nine comedy specials and he has a book coming out in the fall.
“I just feel like a very lucky man that I made it work here,” James said.
This is not James' first performance in Sudbury. He used to perform here in the late 1990s when the city had its own Yuk Yuks comedy club, and has also brought his stand-up shows here in the past.
“I love Sudbury,” he said. “They come to laugh there.”
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Laurentian University's Fraser Auditorium. Tickets range in price from $57.50 and $66, and are available through the Sudbury Theatre Centre box office.
James also performs at the North Bay Capitol Centre the evening before, on Friday, March 22.
@heidi_ulrichsen
