by Gregory Adams
Vancouver is a steady tour stop for a number of big name comedians from around the globe, but the city also has plenty of homegrown talent to keep the laughter rolling all year round. From side-splitting stand-up sets, to gut-busting improv teams, to anything-goes variety shows, Vancouver's got it all. If you don't know where to start, here are a few tips on the most hilarious places in town. [Photo courtesy of Tourism Vancouver/Vancouver TheatreSports League]
Yuk Yuk’s on Cambie is one of Vancouver's most iconic comedy clubs, part of a national chain that has been invested in making you laugh since the '70s. They've brought touring comedians through their doors for years, but they also have a soft spot for up-and-comers from the Lower Mainland. Their weekly schedule includes the Tuesday night showcase, where Vancouver performers face off against each other to nab a coveted weekend spot.
Over in East Van, Commercial Drive restaurant Havana has been a haven of hilarity due to award-winning stand-up/podcaster Graham Clark's long-running Monday night Laugh Gallery. A few blocks down the road at the Rio Theatre, the eccentric Paul Anthony hosts the wildly entertaining Talent Time variety show, a monthly event that calls traditional stand-ups, vaudevillian clowns, animal acts, jugglers and more onto the stage.
Downtown hub the Comedy MIX has brought in a mix of established out-of-towners like Marc Maron, Maria Bamford and This Hour Has 22 Minutes' Shaun Majumder, among others, but the stand-up room within the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa also records live comedy albums for local performers.
While many stand-ups will have scripted their sets ahead of time, improv opens comedy up to infinite possibilities. Over at the Fox Cabaret, the five-piece Sunday Service team are cracking up crowds with their legendary weekend-closing free-for-all, mixing absurdist non-sequiturs and quick wit into all those audience suggested scenarios. Also honing their off-the-cuff skills is the Vancouver TheatreSports League, an internationally-celebrated improv squad riffing on just about anything over at the Improv Centre on Granville Island. While the Monday night QueerProv event at Club XY in the West End is an all-inclusive laugh riot.
After seeing a bunch of locals absolutely kill with their best five minutes, you may get the urge to flex a few punch lines of your own. If you're looking to learn the fundamentals of the funny biz, Mount Pleasant's Blind Tiger Comedy can help sharpen those comedic skills. The in-house instructors are local comedy vets from the Sunday Service and Hip.Bang!, and they teach the finer points of improv, sketch comedy and stand-up. Since school sessions take place within Little Mountain Gallery, fledgling comics can practice on the same stage that hosts weekly events like Jokes Please!
If you want to try things out on your own, there are plenty of open mics in town. Cambie Street tapas bar Kino is well known for its flamenco dancing, but you can try out some moves of your own on their Tuesday comedy night. Newbies are likewise always welcome at Seven Lounge's stand-up night, and anyone's free to bring their routines to The Dirty Penny on Commercial Drive for their free admission dirty comedy open mic. Keep in mind, crashing and burning is part of the process. The point is that you keep going back until you kill.
