The hilarity slung by the fine folks at sketch comedy troupe Halfhandsome is to be applauded.

Adapting the nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic and wink and a nod to all the quirks of our island that made the likes of CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes crew forever beloved, Halfhandsome continues to provide gut-bustingly funny entertainment fit for the masses.

But when the world collectively sheltered from an unseen global pandemic, the b’ys had to get creative.

“To kick it off it was like COVID hit, the theatres were closed. We didn’t know what to do and we knew we wanted to do something, but we knew we probably wouldn’t get the money back. And it was kind of like this logistical thing. COVID was such a logistical nightmare in the theatre world and the rules were kind of unknown at a certain point. We really didn’t know if we could do anything. So we were like ‘what else do we do?’” explains Halfhandsome’s Andrew Tremblett.

Innovation struck in the form of a podcast, but not just your mom and pops tête-à-tête on sports or politics kind, but hearkening back to the bygone days of storytellers and radio plays that crowded families around a sturdy signal for hours of can’t miss entertainment.

The Halfhandsome team

“We kind of hearkened back to these old British comedies on the BBC and even CBC. Podcasts are really a bunch of b’ys talking and laughing over each other and it’s like, who the f**k cares?” adds Tremblett with a laugh. 

“We were like, well, let’s do Almost Baymous, but in podcast form. So it was really kind of like to do something during COVID and we really didn’t know how to do it.”

With aid from producer and sound editor Spencer Bellows, and an addictive score by Adam Foran, the Halfhandsome team of Tremblett, Zac Cross, Elizabeth Hicks, Evan Mercer, Stuart Simpson, supported by the voice acting talents of Allison Kelly, Stef Curran, Spencer Bellows, and Devon Bryan and the iconic Greg Malone, all hands hunkered down in creative town to develop The Codcast, 10 episodes of riotous sketch comedy that poke at everything from “the dark side of Newfoundland tourism,” to a Black Mirror styled sequence where the listener becomes the subject of the entire episode. 

There’s tons of ideas, and they all stick.

“For this project, we had such a back catalogue of stuff from previous shows that we hadn’t done on stage, we hadn’t said in front of anybody. We had sketches that we just didn’t do. So there was a certain amount of that we were lifting from and going well, how do we turn this into an audio sketch?” shared Simpson, delving into the real challenge of taking a largely visual medium and adapting it for an audio-only experience. 

“I think it’s like a nod to how important those shows were and how important those teleplays and radio plays were and the new wave,” explains Tremblett. “It’s our little nod to old comedy and the new, and new form and old form and what’s that bridge. You can really reach. I don’t know, like it’s old radio man, it’s classic. And I love it myself personally.”

‘Come on We Goes’

With the debut episode, naturally titled “Come on We Goes”, hitting the airwaves this past May, The Codcast has already grown a local following, while also proudly gaining listenership across the globe, something the crew admittedly take great pride in.

“It’s not just for the hall anymore, it’s not for just people in town. We want, of course, Newfoundland, and that’s where our numbers are right now. Across Newfoundland there’s a lot. We did the sketch fest and stuff and we found that our humour really resonated in different places,” shared Tremblett, with Simpson explaining that, as a comedy troupe, the gang tend to hold their tried and true “salt beef lens” up to the world. 

“I always say that we are post-ironic Newfoundlanders,” he shared with a grin. “We lay into watta ya at b’y? and how she goin’? And all that stuff. And we always kind of say it as a bit of a joke, but then we do it so much as the joke that it just kind of becomes the way we get on. And so it kind of loses its joke, but it’s still kind of a joke, but like the whole thing is a joke (laughs). And with that, because it’s such a global kind of world we’re living in and all of the information is available to us all the time, we’re no longer this isolated province.

“The information we’re getting is global. It’s international. But we as this generation of post-ironic Newfoundlanders, when we create content, we’re always putting this filter over it. We call it the salt beef veneer. It’s this little lens that we look through that just has that little tinge of how ya gettin’ on? It has that bit of Newfoundland to it even if we’re talking about something that’s much larger than, it’s always got that little taste of Newfoundland in it.”

Parting thoughts? Tune in, have a laugh, and spread the good word of Halfhandsome. “Go and listen. Give us a download. Give us a share. If we can reach out to the readers of The Herald, it all helps,” explains Simpson in closing. “It spreads the word, the good word of Halfhandsome.”

Find The Codcast on your go-to podcast provider and follow Halfhandsome on their official social medias

Steve-O, stuntman extraordinaire, comedian and star of MTV series turned film franchise Jackass, Steve-O is set to bring his Bucket List Tour to St. John’s on August 29th at the Holy Heart Theatre, presented by The Diamond Mine Agency Presents

Every idea on Steve-O’s Bucket List was so ill-advised, he never expected to go through with any of them. Until it was time to prepare for this tour. Not only are the stunts more ridiculous than what you already know Steve-O for, he did them all, and made a highly XXX-rated, multimedia comedy show out of them. Not for kids, or for the faint of heart.

Tickets available this Friday May 13th at noon at WWW.STEVEO.COM and holyhearttheatre.com

I’ve always been the kind of person to keep going through any illness – until officially told I’m sick, that is. I’ll go like the dickens until I’m derailed by an actual diagnosis, and then, look out! I turn into a big ol’ sooky baby in seconds. 

I stop going, I stop eating and I start sleeping. In fact, once I’m officially diagnosed, I’m lucky I can get out of bed at all. Give me permission to be miserable, and I’ll milk it for all it’s worth.  

Nothing Going On

Catching COVID was no different, though it did take awhile for the facts to sink in. I had actually been feeling poorly and been enjoying miserable health for over six weeks and had been on antibiotics and over the counter meds for a sinus infection that simply wouldn’t go away. 

Having had many in my lifetime, no pesky drippy nasal cavity could slow me down, and, with the mandatory one or more symptom COVID tests confirming it wasn’t ‘da vid,’ I just kept going full tilt through Christmas. 

The Monday after New Year’s, I crawled out of bed, made a kitchen appearance, then crawled right back in the bunk. Thankfully, I had nothing going on that week and, besides interacting with the same few people day-in-and-day-out, I went no where and did nothing. 

After the holiday exhaustion, I figured, or a possible return of that troublesome sinus infection. I’d just suffer through it, I told myself. 

The end of that week was shaping up to be busy with back-to-back errands and appointments. I prepared to just shake it off and hit giv ‘er. A friend suggested I take a rapid test and see ‘just in case.’ I told my friend I’d likely test myself later that afternoon, though I was sure it was a waste of time. A case of the COVID-possibly-positive guilts saw me sticking the long-as-me-arm swab up to my brain first thing after all. Within second, the ‘C’ line turned blue. 

I had COVID. The day was derailed and I had a few calls to make. I went home and went to bed out of it. A PCR test confirmed the diagnosis a day later, and, luckily, the few unlucky candidates with whom I had interacted with over the week prior to my diagnosis tested negative, though full disclosure; as of press time, one contact tested positive on a rapid test five days after a negative PCR. It’s been quite the COVID circus. 

Rules change almost daily. From who gets tested (no symptom folks who have had contact with a known positive, yes. If you have symptoms, assume you have it and isolate) to what to do if you test positive on a rapid test (no PCR required as of now and, from what I was told, you only contact contacts after a positive PCR.) 

Like a Champ

Isolation requirements have changed, too, so have some guidelines; like start counting from first symptom onset if you have any, or from first case contact if you don’t. And, since testing is now limited, while this province’s COVID positive numbers still climb, the actual virus-positive numbers are much, much higher. 

What hasn’t changed, however, is our attitude towards others. My poor daughter had been part of her school’s “suspected” group and had to endure three stick-up-the-nostril tests in a row and had to have a locked-down holiday. 

Telling her she had to have yet another test and endure another lockdown days after having her freedom was painful. She took the news like a champ. 

The one friend she had interacted with was a darling, as was the mom, and my partner couldn’t have been more of a hero had he worn a cape. 

As for how I’m feeling? Horrid, thanks for asking. I’m exhausted. Breathing takes real effort. My head is constantly full. I don’t care if I ever eat again and I’d rather piss the bed than get up to go to the bathroom. But, I’m assured this won’t last forever, so until I gets rid of da vid, I’ll just lay back and enjoy my poor health to the fullest.

Chef Todd Perrin is well known in this province. As Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Mallard Cottage in Quidi Vidi Village, as well as at WaterWest Kitchen & Meats in St. John’s, Perrin has been serving up delicious traditional tastes of home using local ingredients in non-traditional ways. 

Perrin has long been known for using the bounty available in the great Newfoundland outdoors – both on land and at sea – to create menus that delight and inspire. He isn’t one to shy away from the spotlight. In its first year, 2014, Mallard Cottage was recognized by enRoute Magazine as one of the “Top Ten Best New Restaurants in Canada.” 

In 2019, Mallard Cottage was recognized as one of Canada’s top eateries, coming in at No. 17 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. 

All-star

Chef Perrin himself is a celebrity at home and abroad, competing on Food Network Canada’s Top Chef Canada and Top Chef Canada’s All-Stars and was a judge in season one of Wall of Chefs. Now Perrin is back and better than ever for season two of the show that pits home chefs against one another for a grand prize of $10,000. 

So, what’s better? Competing or judging? Perrin laughs. That’s an easy one, he opened. 

“Obviously, despite my career sweating it out, being judged by people by choice is far down the list for me. I do that every day in the restaurant business, so when I get asked to go on television, I prefer to not have to do what I have to do every day at work,” he laughed. 

These television gigs, he continued, are as much about having fun as they are about educating others. “I think there’s a lot of fun to be had on (Wall of Chefs) and when you gather with other chefs from across the country, whom I respect greatly as trailblazers, then I’m just happy to be part of that culinary scene.”

The camaraderie and the experiences and the conversations he is blessed to have are amazing, he added. “The other things – the tips we share and the critiques we make – are beneficial to us chefs individually as well as to those competing and anyone at home watching,” he said.

Part of our Family

Wall of Chefs Season Two premiered on Food Network Canada on Jan. 3rd and back for another round of hosting is Noah Cappe, plus a Wall of 12 Canadian culinary giants. Intimidating? Yes. Exciting? Heck ya!

Where did Perrin acquire his love of food? 

“I grew up in a in a pretty traditional Newfoundland household where mom and dad cooked every day. Our meals were not take out fast food. Cooking and eating was something that was always important to our family, and I think it’s just something that I carried into my professional life as I got older.”

Since he’s returned for season two, we ask what it is that fans love about him. 

“I guess it starts with the land you were taken from. That Newfoundland sensibility, the way we describe things. Plus, my personality. We’re on the show to educate home cooks, to educate people watching at home, but it’s also the entertainment side and that’s not lost on me. If you can describe something in a way that’s interesting or a little bit off color or a little bit different then obviously that’s something that’s valuable.”

We ask about being in the food business in these COVID times. You take the good with the bad, Perrin shared. 

“I would say it’s just always nice to have anybody come to the restaurant. If someone who’s well known comes and enjoys it and gives us a plug, that’s obviously beneficial for us, but our customers are our family. Whether you’re famous or not we treat everybody the same.”

Grateful for Everyone

Perrin treats his businesses the same as he’d treat his home: all are more than welcome. “We’ve been lucky that (Mallard) is a destination that people want to come visit … so we have had the good fortunate to have some high fliers dine with us, but having your grandma down for brunch is just as important. That’s kind of our legacy and we’re fortunate and grateful anytime anyone sits at one of our tables.”

Wall of Chefs Season two airs Mondays on Food Network Canada. NL’s own Todd Perrin can be seen on episodes airing January 17th, February 7th and February 21st

Fergus O’Byrne and Jim Payne are legends in the traditional music world. O’Byrne even claims that he and Payne enjoy “bringing young people over to the dark-side of music: the folk side,” as often as they can. 

Rum Ragged young guns

Aaron Collis and Mark Manning, two members of the highly popular band Rum Ragged, were two “young guns” influenced by the two “old geezers” and the four have now joined (dark folk-side?) forces to bring traditional Christmas music to areas of the province. With tunes taken from two Christmas CDs – Jim Payne & Fergus O’Byrne’s A Lovely Time of Year and Rum Ragged’s At Christmas, the foursome will travel to George’s Brook, North River, Bonavista, Corner Brook, Mount Pearl and St. John’s between Dec. 9-21st.  

We ask O’Byrne where the motivation for the musical merging came from. 

“The b’ys with Rum Ragged had recorded several of Jim’s songs so we suggested to the two of them last year, would they like to collaborate,” he said. They joined forces for several successful shows at the Arts and Culture Centres back in June, he added, sharing there’s an interesting history. 

“The first time I met Mark he was only a teenager and I visited his school to perform. He remarked that the first time he ever came on stage, I backed him up. I’m not sure what he sang but that was his introduction to being a folk musician.” 

As for Collis?  “I first met him when he was 10 or 11. Aaron’s parents used to drive him to St. John’s to attend Young Folk at the Hall events and from there he obviously developed into what he has become,” O’Byrne shared.

Hitting the road

The connection Rum Ragged has with Payne is that they have recorded many of his songs. “When they first met with Jim,  four hours later they were coming out with a fistful of music. So it’s interesting to work with Aaron and Mark because they keep Jim and I fresh and working with younger musicians who are coming up with different ideas on what we’re doing is a good combination.”

Plus, all four are fabulous singers, so the acapella Christmas carols are “strong,” he added. O’Byrne says their shows include music that “hasn’t been played to death.” 

“It’s a great mix for the audience, for sure. People say, ‘Oh gosh, I never heard that before,’ but it’s been around for a couple of hundred years, but we’re bringing it to light.”  

Another great thing about this tour? “We’re very much interested in providing live performances for people in places where they don’t have to drive far. So we bring music into the communities and provide good entertainment and a safe night out in their own hometown.” 

O’Byrne says he’s excited to hit the road, and from the ticket sales so far, it seems fans are eager as well. 

“We hope folks come out for a great night of live music.” 

 For more visit www.singsonginc.ca 

Just For Laughs is excited to announce the return of the Just For Laughs Comedy Tour!  Following his successful turn as host in 2019, Canadian comedy legend Rick Mercer returns to lead a stellar line-up of Canada’s most hilarious and diverse comedians. This 19^th edition, titled Just For Laughs Comedy Night in Canada, will feature co-star of STARZ’s Ramy Dave Merheje, Just For Laughs Festival favourite Eman El-Husseini, and 2018 Juno award winner Ivan Decker. Together, these comedians will visit 18 prestigious theatres across the country – a mari usque ad mare! – starting April 19, 2022 in Moncton, NB and wrapping up in Victoria, BC on May 22, 2022.

The Tour will stop in Moncton, NB at the Capitol Theatre on April 19 at 7:30 PM; Saint John, NB at the Imperial Theatre on April 20 at 7:30 PM; Charlottetown, PEI at the Confederation Centre of the Arts on April 21 at 7:00 PM; Halifax, NS at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on April 22 & 23 at 7:00 PM; and St, John’s, NL at the the Arts & Culture Centre on April 25 at 7:30 PM. Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, November 26 at 10:00 AM (noon in Halifax).

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Just For Laughs is also proud to once again be partnering with Movember on the Just For Laughs Comedy Tour. The tour will provide Movember with an additional platform to bring continued awareness to men’s health, including mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.  $1 per ticket sold (less taxes) will be donated to Movember.

The Just For Laughs Tour has been bringing some of its favourite comedians to Canadians from coast to coast for almost 20 years and we are very excited to welcome our audience back into the theatre for live shows, and we are committed to doing so safely.  We will be adhering to all local Covid-19 safety protocols in place in collaboration with each venue and will be closely monitoring the situation in every city we visit.

About Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made In Canada, and Rick Mercer Report. Mercer has received nearly 30 Gemini Awards and Canadian Screen awards for his work on television, and his CBC Television special Talking To Americans remains the highest rated Canadian comedy special ever with 2.7 million viewers.

Mercer is the author of four books, all of which have been national best sellers, and has also written for Time, Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, and The National Post. His newest book – Talking to Canadians: A Memoir – is available now.

He is a recipient of the Governor Generals Performing Arts Award, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a proud native of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

St. John’s, NL • Arts & Culture Centre
Monday, April 25, 2022 • 7:30 PM
Tickets: $56.50
(taxes included + facility & service charges)
$1 per ticket sold (less taxes) will be donated to Movember.

Tickets on sale:
By phone: 709-729-3900/1-800-663-9449
Online: www.artsandculturecentre.com

“I’ve been waiting to make this announcement for a long, long, time,” Dillon announced.

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“My heart is very full as I tell that I’m home next month for my first FULL TOUR of NEWFOUNDLAND. I haven’t been home in over two years because of COVID, but I’m beyond thrilled to say I’ll be back to do what I love. This is my first headlining tour and I’m losing my mind that I get to do it where I started. By’s, I’m coming home.”

Tour dates include:
11/19 DILDO
11/20 ST. JOHN’S
11/21 BONIVISTA
11/23 LEWISPORTE
1/24 KING’S POINT
11/25 PILLEY’S ISLAND
11/27 CORMACK
11/28 CORNER BROOK

The tour, aptly titled Tales From the Mainland, is produced by Dillon’s management Williams Hirsch Talent and Steady Entertainment. Direct support provided by Bree Parsons.

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Ryan Dillon got his start with The Canadian Improv Games in high school before moving to Toronto to pursue a career in comedy.

In his first few months doing stand-up he was selected for the Tim Sim’s Fresh Meat Showcase at The Second City. His one-man show “Collapse” earned him critical praise and awards with a sold out run at The Toronto Fringe Festival.

He’s been featured on Just For Laughs, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, a finalist for SiriusXM’s Top Comic at JFL42, Winnipeg Comedy Festival + more. His debut album “Violently Nice” went to #1 on iTunes and can be heard on the JFL channel on SiriusXM

Tickets are on sale now!

It’s always a pleasure to have comedian John Sheehan in the house. One of those naturally funny guys, just being in his presence can cheer the soul and plaster a smile.

He shares a yarn about a time he almost got in a fight and took his rings off (all for effect and to buy-time intimidation) and name drops another local celeb whose on-the-spot commentary made the encounter all the more entertaining.

A fun ride

Sheehan is a storyteller, and it’s easy to get gleefully dragged in. He’s the kind of guy who, when he gets to the punchline, you’ve already been on such a fun ride that it’s simply icing on the cake.

Lisa Baker has got it goin’ on too when it comes to tale tellin’. If you haven’t been following this lady on TikTok you are missing out in life. She’s sassy in the delightful way that only certain people – many of them Newfoundlanders – can get away with. Baker can tell you off and have you like it. She’s that woman, or ‘dat missus.’

These home-grown gems take the stage together in Right Saucy, and while The Herald reached out to help promote the show, the reality is these two heavy hitters of comedy need no help. In minutes two St. John’s shows were sold out. Of course, as fans of the two comedians, we carry on yarnin’ for braggin’ rights.

Along for the ride

Sheehan, who’s in The Herald building while Baker joins online from her Alberta home, opens. “I’m just along for the ride. Look, Lisa is John, Paul and George and I’m Ringo when it comes to this show.”
Baker is quick to jump in.

“Why do you say that, honey? By the way, I loves Ringo! I feel like Ringo is severely underrated, actually. All Paul does these days is protest the seal hunt.”

• Artist Spotlight: John Sheehan
• Havin’ A Laugh With Lisa Baker

Sheehan laughs, then gets serious. “This show is selling out on Lisa’s name. That’s absolutely a fact. She’s earned it. She’s got the followers on TikTok. It’s ridiculous. She’s true. She’s real. Yeah. There’s no stopping her.”

Baker, who gets to return home for the first time since the pandemic, is over the moon excited, she shared.

“I still can’t believe it. I know it wasn’t even a year and a half since I’ve been back, but it feels like ten. It’s a long time coming. I can’t wait. I miss my family. The fact that I’m able to do a comedy tour around a visit home is even better.”

The fact that Sheehan is her sidekick just makes this adventure all the more sweet. The two met backstage at a comedy show and immediately hit it off, she added.

Kids, votes & taxes

“Johnny and I were the only ones there that voted and paid taxes and had children. Everybody else was pretty much a youngster. Immediately I was like, ‘alright, so this guy’s my people’ and we hit it off right away.”
Sheehan says the two “play off one another.”

“Lisa is very bold in her comedy and I think she represents the province really well. I don’t do a lot of Newfoundland stuff, but she kills that stuff. I think the fact that everybody can relate to whatever she talks about, and that’s the number one thing about comedy because people can nudge the person next to them and say ‘that’s you!’ And I think Lisa’s act is a perfect reflection of what we’re all like.”

We ask if they are fans of one another. It’s a united ‘Yes!’ on that one.

“Have you seen her TikTok? She’s killing it!” Baker says the same about Sheehan. “He makes me laugh. He’s super funny. And it’s who we are as people, you know what I mean? It’s just our personalities that we’re not uptight. We don’t take things too personal.”
Sheehan nods. “That’s the thing that Lisa sells to an audience; there’s no bullshit. It’s her. That’s who she is with the volume turned up. And every great stand-up comedian has that.”

Every great comedian also gets their fair share of hecklers – online and at shows. “I feel a great swell of pity for any heckler who comes to this show thinking they’re going to win,” Sheehan laughed.

Don’t feed the haters

How does she deal with ‘the haters?’

“So here’s what I’ve learned,” Baker begins. “Part of me wishes I had had this success earlier in my career, of course, but I feel like I’ve reached a point as a comedian where I’m better equipped to handle a lot of things that I wasn’t ten years ago.”

“I’m a stronger comedian on stage and I take it to the show so no one is disappointed. But when it comes to hate, my attitude towards that has always been ‘if you don’t like what I do, that’s fine, it’s not for you.’ It’s for the people that do appreciate it. That do want that content. It’s the same for certain types of music or movies or whatever. Just don’t subscribe to that. Don’t listen to it. But I still can exist for those out there that want it.”

Sheehan’s been there too.

“There’s anonymity in online comments and that’s what gets people brave. There’s people who will say stuff online and they would never say it at a show for fear of just being an idiot.”So, the show’s name, Right Saucy, makes total sense, then. Baker laughs.

• Artist Spotlight: Meet Mom’s Girls

“We had to postpone shows because of the pandemic and then my boyfriend made me a shirt with ‘Right Saucy’ on it and I went, ‘yeah. I feel like it just fits me.’”

The fact that the shows are selling out even as they add more dates – including a trip to Labrador – is thrilling for both comedians. Sheehan says he’s not surprised. “It’s not very often you’re going to get a comic coming into the province with that much talent, that much experience, who’s going around everywhere doing shows. People need to take advantage of it.”

Baker is quick to defend her ‘Ringo.”

“And then to bring in an opening act with that much talent and that much experience; anyone who walks away from this and says, ‘well, that was garbage’ either doesn’t have a sense of humour or just got destroyed because they spoke up and said something to me or Johnny and that was it. We just ended it.”

Funny at a funeral

Sheehan shares a story about a time Baker took the wind out of the sails of a few hecklers.

“I got up on stage after and I looked at those guys and I said, ‘I kind of feel bad for you.’ You don’t mess with Lisa.”
Baker and Sheehan, as comedians, are expected to be ‘on’ constantly.

“I’ve had people expect me to be funny at a funeral. Anywhere you go, if you have a conversation, they expect you to be hilarious,” Baker shared. But how does she handle the pressure?

“I’ve just been trying various milligrams of edibles and seeing how it affects my body,” she joked.

Sheehan shared it can be a battle sometimes. “I’ve battled depression and everything else and a lot of times I just don’t want to be on and sometimes people take that the wrong way.”

• Shaun Majumder: King of the Dad Joke

“We have feelings and lives,” Baker added. Speaking of both, Baker shared she’s excited to get home and see family.

“Mostly I’m looking forward to just hanging out with people I haven’t been able to see. My friends and my dad mostly. And to have a good feed of fish again. Out here it’s not the same. So I just can’t wait to go home and eat some fresh fish and just kind of see everybody and get drunk and act like myself and not have anyone think that that’s unusual.”

Sheehan shared he just can’t wait to hit the stage again.

“Just getting on the road is exciting. The road is a blessing and a curse, of course. At first you love it and then you hate it and then love it again. I find I really hit my stride after about the third show.”

If anyone is an online fan of the two comedians, expect that and so much more, they add.

“I call what I do online mini sketches. But the stand-up, Johnny and myself, we’re both storytellers. You’re going to get a whole range of material and topics. Onstage, I’m in my element and I’m allowed to do whatever I want and I am on this tour because I booked it, it’s my rules and it is going to be absolutely blue because at my core I’m a blue comic, so that means I’m very dirty. People need to go in knowing that this is not for children. It’s R-rated and that’s what they’re going to hear.”

Nostalgic material

As for Sheehan, he shared he’s been in reflective mode lately. “A lot of my material has been coming from nostalgia. I got at least half an hour on the 80s. I got a top-loading VCR bit. Just basically, you know what? I’m talking about my life as much as anything else and it’s pretty funny and it’s stuff anyone who enjoys having a laugh can relate to.”

And if you’re not up for having a laugh? Just stay home out of it, is their best ‘Right Saucy’ advice.

For more visit Lisabakercomedy.com or John Sheehan Entertainment on Facebook

According to actor/comedian Shaun Majumder, dealing with a pandemic is like dealing with parenthood in general – you just have to keep your wits, and your sense of humour, about you at all times.

“I say to everyone, ‘b’ys, if you keep your sense of humour, you can deal with anything.’ Even if you think about the realities of keeping a toddler six feet away from anyone, you know right there that’s a set up for comical failure,” Majumder said with a laugh.

THE BEST MEDICINE

Anything goes, and the more ‘out there’ the better, when it comes to humour being the best medicine, he added.

“Like the saying goes, ‘you can’t make this stuff up,’ well there’s so much about being a parent and a dad that you just can’t make up,” he said.

From diaper duty to teaching another human to talk – especially with our unique Newfoundland dialect – funny just happens naturally when you are a dad, or especially when you are a dad during a pandemic.

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“Just think what’s it like for me to be an actor and a comic and a new father during a pandemic. And add to that the fact that I’m a Newfoundlander! There’s hours of stand-up right there. Even just being a Newfoundland – you can’t be your normal Newfoundland-self when you can’t touch or close-talk, right? No! Because you got to follow the rules or, ‘look comin’!’ Doctor Janice will find out, right? Newfoundland’s a small place, trust me on that one.”

Majumder has spent much of the pandemic in his rural hometown of Burlington, Newfoundland, but he’s been working as well.

One show, Race Against the Tide, was shot in New Brunswick and pits sand sculpture experts against one another.

“That was exciting, and working in such a great setting, and being back working with CBC, was nice. It’s home away from home,” he shared.

COVID TIMES

Now, Majumder has a new challenge, posting on social media about the good  – and the bad – of working in these COVID times.

“Super excited to be joining the cast of a new series shooting in Halifax. But super disappointed with the (Nova Scotia Government’s) decision to not to allow my fully vaccinated wife (Shelby) and 20-month-old to join me as a family bubble on the grounds they are deemed non-essential,” he wrote. “I know people are struggling, and this job is a blessing. I know the lockdown is necessary to slow the community spread and restrictions are necessary. Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems very low risk to allow a fully Vax’d family who are isolating for two weeks upon arrival from NL –  willing to take as many tests as we can and follow all the rules, to come to N.S. for work for five months.”

‘GET VAX’D’

It’s at these times that we really see how important staying together really is, he added.

“Family has never been more important. And I know I am one case out of the thousands of requests the government is swimming in … Hoping the spread slows and they will be able to join me soon. Stay home, wear masks out, and GET VAX’D,” he concluded.

But for now, it’s taking the time to enjoy the time together they do have.

“It’s amazing how the human brain works when you are in times of stress, like when you’re not sure, always pick humor. It’s tough to feel loose and free and funny at times when you’re uncertain about your future, but focus on funny and on family and things will work out.”

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Lord knows we’re all due for a laugh. That could be the epitaph of many a Newfoundlander and Labradorian, but in the pandemic era, that rule of thumb has grown exponentially. 

Enter Mom’s Girls, a female/non-binary sketch comedy troupe based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, whose main goal is to flip the script on the stereotype of females and inclusivity in comedy. Sound like a time and a half? Well, that’s because it is all that and your canteen full of chips. 

Mom’s Girls make their long-awaited return this May at the LSPU Hall in St. John’s for Mom’s Girls Gone Wild (May 13-15), with the team of Elizabeth Hicks, Stef Curran, Allison Kelly, and Andie Bulman ready to serve up gut-busting laughs in an inclusive and safe environment.  

“I think that’s totally our mandate, which is probably not surprising for a comedy troupe, but that at our core is what we want to do. Have people come to our shows and have them have an excellent time with their friends, with their family, with us,” shared Hicks in a sit-down with The Herald. 

“A lot of the time we are just totally silly because everything is so hard right now, so let’s have a laugh about, like a sheep farmer, you know? But then other times we really like to write and perform satire about the situation, and Newfoundlanders maybe more than anyone love that kind of thing. We love laughing about our tough situation.”

GENDER BE DAMNED

With all featured performers, writers and director Mallory Fisher making up an evening fully produced, written, built and performed by female and non-binary artists, Mom’s Girls bucks common trends and misconceptions about ladies havin’ a laugh, as it were. But in truth, the comedic cogs in the Mom’s Girls machine just want to make you, and each other, crack up. Gender be damned.

“We don’t write sketches thinking this is funny for a girl. We write sketches that we think are funny, and I don’t feel like it has anything to do with our gender,” explains Kelly. “I mean, everything in the world, unfortunately, tends to have something from the outside telling you about yourself and your gender. It happens to be that we are four female people in a sketch comedy group, but that is not what shapes the writing process for us.”

“We are very fortunate to be constantly lifted up by our community and supported and have great attendance at our shows and lots of people following us. It’s all great, but it really is a reality that exists in some public spaces, a conception that women aren’t funny,” adds Hicks.

“We all heard growing up that girls aren’t funny. So it’s like a feeling in the air that you have to fight against sometimes. There are just so many examples of female comedians that have done amazing things, and continue to do amazing things. So it doesn’t make any sense when people think women aren’t funny. Really, we’re not doing anything totally out of the ordinary. We think that we have something as an individual troupe to bring as Newfoundlanders, as women, as young people. There are lots of different reasons, or factors that shape our material.”

Aside from a knockdown, drag-out evening of comedians at the height of their powers, Mom’s Girls has always strived to nurture an inclusive environment, aiming for laughs and that ever-rare ‘punch-up’ mentality in an industry that often thrives on cheap-shots and low-brow laughs.

“I think that if anybody left one of our shows with hurt feelings, that would be a nightmare,” says Kelly. “So that’s kind of a guiding principle, and at the core of what we’re doing is we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Anybody’s, because then that’s not comedy, that’s bullying. And there are so many comedians who are great at making you laugh without ever actually alienating a group or an individual.”

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MOM’S GIRLS’ FLAIR

And while the much-hyped and anticipated return to the stage for the Mom’s Girls comedy troupe has fans here and far buzzing, that’s not the only movement in the camp of an ever-growing group of immensely talented artists. 

The Mom’s Girls team has been hard at work on an all-new children’s television series for Bell Fibe TV, Tales From the Floordrobe, and were kind enough to offer a sneak peek of sorts.

“The four of us wrote all the episodes and we were the ones acting in it, so it has been quite a long process,” shared Hicks. “Some of us were producers on the show as well, so it was really difficult, I won’t lie. But the idea was basically that we were going to put a spin on literature and history and put the Mom’s Girls flair on things like that.”

“The idea came from something we already had, but then we molded it to fit children and it actually worked really well for kids,” explained Kelly, sharing that the series has a rough late 2021, early 2022 release date. 

“I think that actually is the strength of them, that they are really funny and they also really encourage self-realization for children. That’s what our goal was, and I think that we did it.”

“We made sure that every single episode had a problem of the day and then the story helps you realize the answer to the problem,” adds Hicks. “Now we’re back with all of our friends. What did you learn? And I think it was successful. We’ll see. We’ll have to poll the audience of children when the show airs.”

PUNS & PUNCHLINES

With a television series on deck and a much-hyped string of shows around the corner, the future is bright for a troupe whose intentions and heart are as sharp and pinpoint accurate as their puns and punchlines. 

“It’s so important to me that everybody learns that it’s cool to be silly. Like it’s cool to be a natural-born goofer,” shares Kelly with a laugh, ending on a bizarrely poignant story that perfectly bookends our conversation.

“When I was young I wanted to be funny, but I also wanted to be attractive and I didn’t really, like, know that you could be both. And I remember this story of this girl in my grade and all the boys in my class were farting. And they were like farting and then laughing, farting and then laughing. And then this girl in my class, she farted. And then it was like silence. They were like ewww man, or whatever, and I remember just being like in grade three and knocked with the hypocrisy of it all. I can’t believe it’s funny when you do it and it’s not funny when she does it. For me, a huge part of this is like we want it to be funny when we do it too.”

And so it is. Go wild b’ys!

For more information on Mom’s Girls and Mom’s Girls Gone Wild visit their Facebook, Instagram,  and lspuhall.ca

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