The Commonwealth Comedy Tour drops by for a few zingers

PREVIEW Lars Callieou, Martin Mor and Gordon Southern 2nd Annual Commonwealth Comedy Tour Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. Kinsmen Banquet Hall 47 Riel Dr. Tickets: $15 online at http://www.eventbrite.ca or $20 at the door

A good night out of crackling comedy is simply indispensable. In his first tour since returning from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Edmonton standup comic Lars Callieou takes an international triple act on the road. He organized the 2nd Annual Commonwealth Comedy Tour with three headliners from around the vast British Empire: Irishman Martin Mor, English comedian Gord Southern and Callieou as the Canadian representative. "I find Canadian, British and Australian humour very smart. American humour is very in-your-face. But our humour is a little more subtle and a little more sarcastic. Sarcastic can be smart-alecky. But our humour is not. It's tongue-in-cheek," Callieou said. The seven-stop tour is Mor and Southern's Canadian debut. The tour kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 20 at Kinsmen Banquet Hall with special St. Albert resident, Pepper of the Pepper and Dylan Show on KiSS 91.7 FM Radio. Each comedian is slated for a 30-minute set. Not letting grass grow under their feet, these three global performers have more than 50 years combined experience from as far away as Scotland to China to Dubai.  Yet their individual self-aware sketches dovetail together beautifully. Callieou first worked with Mor at a 2016 Bangkok festival. "He was one of the funniest people I had ever seen. He started out as a street performer in his teens. He juggled. He was a circus performer. He was a magician, and he's been on the comedy circuit for the past 20 years. He's one of those guys that has funny in his bones." No kidding. The popular comedian's comedian not only supported the British Isles' best of the best. Mor also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 21 times, and holds the Guinness World Record for performing a bracing show at the highest elevation on Mount Everest's base camp. Instead, Callieou first encountered Southern at the 2017 Adelaide Fringe Festival where the British comic was revelling in a sell-out show, That's a Fun Fact. Not only is Southern an international headliner, the stand-up comic is also involved in voiceover work, and enjoys theatre, television and writing credits. While locals recognize Callieou through appearances at the Blind Pig Pub, the Arden Theatre and Edmonton Comedy Festival, gauging Mor and Southern's material is the unknown. Will they favour celebrity scuttlebutt, political satire, social commentary or blissfully funny nuggets from everyday life? "The end goal is laughter. They'll pick material that is most relevant. I've seen Martin improvise four-minutes on his hotel room in Bangkok. We're all seasoned professionals and we'll do what it takes to make a show a success. But because the venue is the Kinsman Hall, it will be a clean show." Although Mor and Southern are both from the British Isles, first impressions are quite different. "Martin is six-feet, four-inches and has a big heart and a big voice. Gord is smaller at five-foot eleven and looks a little more like a university professor. Both can navigate any show, but I would like to see them try to outshine each other." When asked if the British comedians' accents affect their presentation, Callieou replied saying, "It adds a bit of extra caché. I find that I got 50 per cent more laughs in Australia. They knew I'd come from far away. Yes, definitely. An accent adds an exotic touch." Winter is just around the corner. Time to stock up on funny catchphrases with comedy that relishes the moment.