Guffaws, giggles and side-splitting hilarity seemed to be the order of the day for the packed house at the Laughopolis Comedy Combo Tour held at Cariboo Christian Life Fellowship (CCLF) on Jan. 28.
“I think I even heard a few snorts,” says Pastor Rick Barker, who set up and hosted the two-and-a-half-hour event.
Known as Canada’s premier clean stand-up comedian, Leland Klassen headlined the night and partnered at times throughout with the antics of Andrew Bright and Elijah Tadema of The Panic Squad out of Washington State.
Klassen, who hails out of Vancouver, began the night by poking fun at his obvious awkwardness, his attempts at working out, life at home being a husband and father, and other day-to-day activities, which the crowd of some 200 people “totally got,” Barker adds.
Then the improv comedians took over with their no-script acting and ad-libbing, which Barker notes is always amazing.
“The creative talent needed to pull off some of the audience suggestions was outstanding,” he says, referring to one game during which Bright needed to communicate (without English) to Tadema a very difficult scene to act out.
“Tadema was taken downstairs out of earshot while the audience threw out suggestions to Bright for a place, an occupation and a thing, which he then needed to translate to his buddy using gestures only.
“The audience gave him a bush on the moon as a place, a male model specializing in suits made of taxidermal rats and then using a pencil made out of cheese. I thought charades was tough until I saw this. It was outstanding and hilarious at the same time.”
The show, which was sponsored in part by World Vision, included a three-minute plug for sponsoring children in needy parts of the world, as well as a brief promo for co-sponsor Trinity Western University.
It was during the 10-minute intermission of that one lady pointed to her solar plexus and exclaimed, “I hurt right here,” Barker says, adding there was a lot of that going around.
“Anytime these guys come through, we will book them in. Laughter truly is a great medicine for the soul.”
