A Tory majority makes it a great time to be a comedian, says stand-up veteran Ron James.
The 53-year-old comedian from Nova Scotia started his 13th year on the road with a tour of Ontario.
James is scheduled to perform at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on Feb. 24, and said he’s glad to be back on the road because he’s looking at material that he normally would have veered away from.
“I’m looking at different ways of expressing myself on stage,” James said during an interview with tbnewswatch.com.
“I’m taking more chances. It’s a great deal of fun. It’s a real high wire act. When we got a gang of button down patriarchs with the key to the government still in Ottawa who wants you to tow the party line, it’s a great time to be a comedian because I’m basically being paid to say stuff that I’d get thrown out class. As soon as someone tells us to shut up, we can’t. It’s been a great deal of fun.”
James said his stage performances allow him to be more political with his humour compared to his show on CBC. He said there are already good political satirists on the airwaves like Rick Mercer and This Hour Has 22 Minutes and he wanted to make his show unique.
Despite looking at different subject matter, James said he still keeps an ear open in the room and takes in what people have to say. He said he always learns something new.
“I’m painting with a fairly broad brush strokes on my show,” he said. “On the stage show there’s the frustration with Bell customers service and this rapidly changing planet we live on to aging and mortality.
“I cover hockey, the changing nature of the sport and I’ve got material on the current gang and tough love patriarchs who have the key to the government store in Ottawa.”
While his tour of Ontario may be tough, he said his next tour of B.C. will be far more demanding with 15 shows back-to-back in April.
He said his secret is staying healthy and eating right.
Tickets to James’ show are available at the Community Auditorium website.
