The chair of truth

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This article was published 28/06/2017 (3381 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Apparently, it’s no longer enough for a comedian merely to be funny. They also have to give an audience all the feels, probing the emotions behind the sad-clown persona.

Mark Forward is getting meta with that idea with his new standup show, Mark Forward Wins All the Awards (A Work in Progress).

“Normally in my standup, I don’t talk about anything in my real life,” the 43-year-old Toronto comedian says. “But I find at these big festivals that I like going to, people always sneak in death or something morbid, and they win all the awards. So it’s a play on that, basically, to blatantly tell sad stories throughout the show, just to win awards.

“There’s a chair on stage and when I sit in the chair, that’s the truth. When I’m not in the chair, everything’s fair game.”

The “big festival” in question is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Forward will be taking the show, after working out some of the kinks on June 29 at the Park Theatre, where he is a frequent performer (the comic told the Globe and Mail last year, “the best place for comedy is Winnipeg”).

So how does a standup act stand out from the hundreds of others taking place in the Scottish capital in August?

“It’s tough. There are, like, 5,000 acts, and if the reviews are bad off the top, you could be in a lot of trouble,” Forward says of his second visit to the annual arts festival, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. “I just think if your show’s good, quality will always rise above the rest. But I’m not going there to become a millionaire.”

Forward’s comedy — dark, absurd and often almost unhinged — could be seen as tough sell. Sometimes the twisted punchlines are softened with an impish smile; other times he taps into a deep well of anger. He’s also prone to performing surreal theatrical sketches, in which he plays all the roles.

It’s a style that in years past might have seen him relegated to the comedy fringes. But the Internet age has allowed niche comedians to connect with audiences who appreciate their material.

“I think there are pros and cons of social media and getting yourself out there,” he says of the current comedy climate. “But I think it’s easier to find your voice — and to find people who want to come hear it.

“I’m happy with where it’s come in the last 10 years, compared to when the Dane Cooks of the world were on top. Now the Louis C.K.s and Bill Burrs have risen, and although I hate the term ‘alternative,’ the alternative comedy scene in the (United States) is amazing.”

Forward, who opened for Craig Ferguson on his recent North American tour, is also a busy actor. He appeared as the very odd school librarian, Mr. Leung, on the first three seasons of CBC’s Mr. D, and currently taps into his trademark rage as Coach on Comedy Network’s Letterkenny.

In what he calls “one of the greatest experiences of my professional life,” he won the role sweet doofus cop Donny Mashmore on the third season of FX’s Calgary-shot Fargo, after American comedian Jim Gaffigan dropped out.

Despite all this outside validation, Forward is self-deprecating about his new show, which he says, with the aplomb of a seasoned showman, “stinks.”

He admits to having fears about presenting the all-new material, but then adds he’s equally reluctant to trot out tried and true jokes.

“It’s funny, because when I see comics, I love seeing their bits over and over again. But when it comes to me, I go, ‘Ugh, nobody’s gonna want to see that.’ It’s why I keep my prices so low (for Toronto shows): ‘There’s new stuff they might not like and then bits I know I’ve been doing for a while that they might have seen. So make it $5 and then they can’t really complain.’”

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier