Derek Edwards is kind of like your funniest friend.
The stand-up comic is super easy going, and chuckles along as he’s telling joke after joke. His affable personality makes you want to root for him, and crowds have for three decades.
His first tour of British Columbia since BC (before COVID-19) will start on Sept. 8 in Vernon, and hit Duncan on Sept. 14, after it was postponed from its planned launch in April.
Edwards said he hopes the audience will wear masks, so he won’t be able to tell that they’re not smiling as he shakes off the rust from not having performed as often over the last two years.
“I’d really like a courteous and forgiving crowd as I get started out,” he joked.
In Praise of the Ostrich is Edwards’ new 90-minute special.
Inspiration for the many jokes came just as regularly, even though he wasn’t out and about as much as he was used to.
“I could be inside watching Netflix, or whatever’s on the tube, and I’ll go, ohhhh, that’s a great idea for a joke,” he said.
“I could be retired for 20 years, and will still see something that will cause a knee jerk reaction to write something down.”
Audience members can expect commentary on the influx of cannabis stores, self-driving cars, gambling tips, the challenge of staying youthful, and dressing warmly.
The tour will also take Edwards to Kelowna (Sept. 9), Chilliwack (Sept. 10), and North Vancouver, (Sept. 11), before crossing the Georgia Strait for shows in Duncan at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre, Nanaimo (Sept. 15), Victoria (Sept. 16), Courtenay (Sept. 17), and Campbell River (Sept. 18).
“It’s therapeutic for me to be working again,” he said. “So with therapeutic goodness on my end, and positive energy from the crowd that maybe haven’t had a night out in a while, I’m hoping its going to hit that crucial mass and kick it over the edge.”
ronan.odoherty@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter