JFL42 Review: Byron Bowers Marries Heavy and Light During an Hour About Duality Rivoli, Toronto ON, September 28

Published Sep 29, 2019

Byron Bowers has the makings of a great one-man show on his hands. He has a number of large set pieces around which to orient his act, a few...

JFL42 Review: Nate Bargatze Is in Command of His Comedic Voice Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto ON, September 26

Published Sep 27, 2019

Comics experience the world on two planes at once: taking in the same sights and sounds as the rest of us, they're constantly filtering thes...

JFL42 Review: Michelle Wolf Dazzles with a Viscerally Funny New Hour Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto ON, September 24

Published Sep 26, 2019

At the risk of sounding a bit reductive, Michelle Wolf is really funny. Admittedly, this isn't the most profound insight, but I make this po...

JFL42 Review: Vir Das Impresses With a Thematically Compelling Hour Royal Theatre, Toronto ON, September 23

Published Sep 25, 2019

"Those are all the generic opening jokes I have. Can I go to my material now?" Vir Das asked the crowd abruptly, just a couple of minutes in...

JFL42 Review: Sam Morril's Joke Density Nearly Overwhelms the Audience The Garrison, Toronto ON, September 20

Published Sep 21, 2019

Is the purpose of comedy to "push boundaries" or "speak truth to power"? At the Garrison on Friday night, Sam Morril made a strong case that...

JFL42 Review: Ronny Chieng Shows Flashes During an Unfocused Set Royal Theatre, Toronto ON, September 19

Published Sep 20, 2019

To the extent that there were problems with Ronny Chieng's set at the Royal Theatre on Thursday night, none of them had to do with the stren...

Lil Rel Howery JFL42, Toronto ON, September 29

Published Sep 30, 2018

Taking into account that the goals of a fulfilling conversation don't always overlap neatly with those of an entertaining performance, watch...

Chris Gethard JFL42, Toronto ON, September 28

Published Sep 29, 2018

Performing for an enthusiastic crowd at the Winter Garden Theatre, Chris Gethard sought to issue a reminder that perfection is an unattainab...

Hannibal Buress JFL42, Toronto ON, September 27

Published Sep 28, 2018

Leading up to the release of his 2016 special, Comedy Camisado, Hannibal Buress joked in interviews about choosing this title because, much...

Joe Mande JFL42, Toronto ON, September 26

Published Sep 27, 2018

With the swaths of comedians who hold down steady jobs working in TV writers' rooms, it's not uncommon for comedy fans to notice a striking...

Chris Gethard Discusses 'Nanette,' Being the Sad Guy, and How His Podcast 'Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People' Has Influenced His Comedy

Published Sep 26, 2018

Taking stock of the tidal wave of think pieces that has swept the internet since the release of Hannah Gadsby's Nanette, it's a bit puzzling...

James Davis JFL42, Toronto ON, September 24

Published Sep 25, 2018

Leaving James Davis's show at the Royal Theatre on Monday night, you'd be forgiven for wondering when some of his jokes were written. "I'm t...

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Panel JFL42, Toronto ON, September 22

Published Sep 23, 2018

"I don't know anyone who is kind of into our show," Matt Johnson said halfway through Saturday afternoon's panel discussion about Nirvanna t...

James Acaster JFL42, Toronto ON, September 20

Published Sep 21, 2018

Assessing James Acaster's JFL42 performance in Toronto last night, the question is how to effectively capture the proverbial lightning in a...

James Acaster Discusses the Success of 'Repertoire' and Bringing New Show 'Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999' to JFL42

Published Sep 19, 2018

In March, Netflix released James Acaster's Repertoire, a fittingly titled series that introduced the world outside of the U.K. to James Acas...