Laugh lines

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This article was published 21/03/2019 (1333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Comedy Festival turns 18 this year, but it’s mom who’s leaving the nest. Festival co-founder Lara Rae recently announced that the 2019 festival would be her last as artistic director; stepping into the role for 2020 will be Dean Jenkinson, the longtime creative producer for the festival’s galas. 

“It’s exciting to be taking the wheel from Lara and now that the festival is turning 18, being entrusted to shepherd it into adulthood,” Jenkinson said in a release.

Rae’s final festival runs April 28-May 4, and features more than 70 acts delivering punchlines in more than 30 shows at venues including Club Regent Event Centre, the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre, The Forks, Millennium Library, the Fairmont Lounge, Wee Johnny’s and the Gas Station Arts Centre. 

Shaun Majumder, ex-Winnipegger Chanty Marostica, Seán Cullen, Jessica Holmes, Gerry Dee and Martha Chaves are some of the bigger names on the bill but, as always, there’s a deep roster of talent and a host of comedians working in different styles to discover.

Among the schedule highlights: the ever-popular Dirty Show sees a lineup of comics working blue (the Met, May 3, hosted by Ed the Sock), but there’s also an afternoon Clean Show for those who find F-sharps discordant (Gas Station, May 4).

The festival also features the return of Your Hood’s a Joke — a head-to-head, no-holds-barred battle where comedians roast each other’s favourite neighbourhoods, countries or schools (April 29, Gas Station) — an all-Indigenous Treaty 1 and Only showcase (Gas Station, May 3) and a French-language lineup at WCF en Français (Université de Saint-Boniface, May 2). 

All the gala performances — which are recorded for broadcast on CBC  — will be held at Club Regent. Tickets are $35 at winnipegcomedyfestival.com and Ticketmaster.ca or in person at the Gas Station. 

• First Impressions (May 2, 7:15 p.m.): A look at beauty standards and insecurity featuring host Trent McClellan, along with Simon King, Chanty Marostica, Shelina Merani, Natalie Norman and more.

• Kids Stuff (May 3, 6:45 p.m.): Host Gerry Dee and a lineup including John Cullen, Keith Pedro, Preeti Torul and Rhiannon Archer will find the humour in childhood and raising children.

• Beyond Belief (May 3, 9:15 p.m.): Conspiracy theories and UFOs get their due from a panel of comedians including host DeAnne Smith, Martha Chaves, Charlie Demers and Jacob Samuel. 

• Square Pegs (May 4, 6:45 p.m.): A lineup of comedy outliers such as Anesti Danelis, Yumi Nagashima, Nick Nemeroff and host Kevin McDonald.

• Discomfort Zone (May 4, 9:15 p.m.): Jessica Holmes, Adam Christie, Rebecca Kohler, Chelsea Lou and more revel in getting really awkward. 

For a complete lineup, schedule and ticket information, see WinnipegComedyFestival.com.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier

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Jill Wilson
Senior copy editor

Jill Wilson writes about culture and the culinary arts for the Arts & Life section.

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