Redd hits Rumor’s at full force

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2025 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chris Redd has the comedic reflexes of a ninja.

The well-trained improv artist can Mr. Miyagi his way through just about anything a crowd can throw at him — from innocuous and wildly unexpected responses to hecklers hurling shoes.

That’s what you can expect (hopefully minus the shoe) from his three-night, five-show run at Rumor’s Comedy Club, which starts Thursday and runs to Saturday.

“I love coming back to Winnipeg — the crowds always show up for us. I wouldn’t want to live there ‘cause it’s cold, but the people are amazing,” says Redd.

Calling from the Pearson International Airport in Toronto, where he admits his energy is low and the background noise is loud, he displays one of his special moves — his ability to harness his ADHD to swiftly bounce from random topics being lobbed at him, while staying focused enough to bring it back to his planned material.

He’s able to somehow show humour in potentially uncomfortable situations, from being at his cousin’s house when it was raided by police to the upcoming transition of power south of the border, or as he calls it, “Trump: The Sequel.”

If ever there was a response that shocked Redd during a set, however, it was a response to a bit about school shootings that prompted one audience member to tell the actor and comedian to “go kill yourself.”

“It happens all the time. That’s what people do at shows — sometimes they hear you say something and quickly react to it; they just hear the headline. I know that man heard me say ‘school shooter’ and he sat there with it and just got offended. Everyone’s not going to like everything,” Redd says.

While he’s always ready to take on what’s making news, he doesn’t feel overburdened by the responsibility some comedians have to not only make light of, but also shed light on, current events. He considers it more like “a magic trick with words — making people laugh at something they didn’t expect.”

Although his calendar’s full of live shows, Redd is probably best known as a recognizable cast member on Saturday Night Live, where he delivered spot-on impressions of Kanye West, Nick Cannon, Will Smith, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and the lovably flawed Steve Urkel during five seasons of SNL (2017-2022).

In addition to honing his sketch-comedy skills, the stint also landed him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for writing the song Come Back Barack.

The 39-year-old Missouri-born performer has showed his range, appearing on numerous TV shows (Chicago PD, Kenan and Empire) and movies (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Candy Cane Lane and Joker).

He’s also starred in his own comedy special Why Am I Like This? in which he takes a hilarious, yet honest, look at his own mental health and comparing finding a therapist to dating.

While he’s hush-hush about upcoming projects, he currently stars in Resurrected Rides on Netflix and continues to pull in audiences at live shows across North America.

“In my standup, you’re going to be able to see me in full force. I will win you over with a show. I think sometimes people get glimpses of your comedy, but they don’t fully know what kind of comedy you do. I get that all the time when people come to see my shows,” he says.

“I am funny in sketch, but that show is very controlled, and you don’t see every idea. I’m a lot funnier in person.”

arts@freepress.mb.ca

If you value coverage of Manitoba’s arts scene, help us do more.
Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.