Still time to get tickets for three Icebreakers Comedy shows

Though next Thursday’s Icebreakers Comedy Festival opening night at Oast House Brewers is sold out, tickets remain available for two shows Friday night at Corks Winebar and Eatery and the CBC LOL Gala Saturday at the Court House Theatre. 

Organizer Jeff Paul, who grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake and graduated from St. Michael Catholic Elementary and Niagara District Secondary Schools, says that the first show sold out in about a week. He attributes that to the fact that NOTL’s own Joe Pillitteri will be the MC that evening, setting the stage for Tamara Shevon and the headliner, Darrin Rose, who played Bill on the CBC sitcom Mr. D and has a recurring role on Letterkenny. 

It’s the tenth anniversary for Icebreakers, something that ranks among Paul’s favourite accomplishments. 

“It’s a lot of work to put this together,” he says of the festival, which he and his wife Kyra Williams, a comedy agent and producer, present. “We’ve got a great team. At the end of the day, I’m the one calling all the shots. It’s stressful, but once the show starts it’s a lot of fun.”

Between the four shows next week a total of 18 comedians will take to the stage at three different venues. Being immersed in the Toronto comedy scene throughout the year, Paul and Williams easily form connections and bonds with some of the best standup comics in Canada. 

“I run a weekly show with Kyra,” he says. “We’re always looking for talent, and we tag people for this festival and another one that we do in Parry Sound. This lineup is full of people I’ve worked with throughout the past year, people that have really impressed me.”

Friday’s Festival Favourites show at Corks, though, features four comics who have all played Icebreakers shows in the past. Two-time Canadian Comedy Awards winner Sandra Battaglini hosts with Ian Gordon, Trinidadian-born, Canadian-raised Jean Paul (no relation) and Jeff’s close friend Rob Bebenek all featured that night. 

“Rob and I are best friends,” says Paul. “In fact, Rob and my Dad text each other, that’s how close we are. In fact, we refer to Rob as the son my Dad always wanted. He has three sons, but he prefers Rob. The guy’s a monster on stage, he’s one of the best we have. He’s a joy to watch.”

For Bebenek, he’s sure it’s his fifth time at the Icebreaker’s Comedy Festival. He loves making the trip to NOTL and is always happy to do a show with Paul. And knowing that it’s his friend’s hometown, he loves to take a few pot shots at him. 

“He kind of just asks for it,” Bebenek laughs. “Almost our entire relationship is built on that. I’m on the road a lot, but we met through other comics in Toronto many years ago. Then we did a few shows together and I kind of just got stuck with him.”

The Kitchener native has been on the stand-up scene for about 16 years. He has appeared on MTV and opened concerts for Bob Saget, Burt Kreischer, Steve-O of Jackass fame and Gerry Dee. Bebenek says he is really impressed with the quality of this year’s Icebreakers lineup. 

“It’s an anniversary year, so obviously Jeff has loaded it up a little bit more,” says Bebenek. “Matt Wright from Newfoundland is at the Saturday Gala. He’s really one to watch. He has an effortless charm.”

Wright played the Weatherman on the CBC’s Son of a Critch and has written for six seasons of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, earning a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award. He opened for Jerry Seinfeld at the 2023 Great Outdoors Comedy Festival.

“Allie Pearse is also on that CBC Gala,” says Bebenek. “I do a lot of roadshows with Allie. She’s super funny and great to watch.”

Like Bebenek, Pearse is excited to return to NOTL for the festival next week just a year after her last Niagara performance. 

“I just love that Jeff sees the community there, and sees that they will appreciate this type of event,” says Pearse. “He and Kyra are such a dream team. They work so hard, they are wonderful producers, and Jeff is such a great comic. And I can’t believe it’s been ten years now.”

The Montreal native who currently writes for television shows Letterkenny and Shoresy, actually moved to Toronto 15 years ago hoping to break into theatre. Once there, though, she started working in hospitality and event planning instead. But her desire to perform never left her, leading Pearse to take a class at Toronto’s Second City.. 

“I really enjoyed it,” she remembers, “It was a great way to be pushed to write and perform for the first time in front of an audience. But it took me three or four years after that before I really gave it a shot and started going to open mic nights.”

She says it was a weekly standup show that she was producing in Toronto featuring mostly female comics that got her noticed by Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney, producers of both Letterkenny and Shoresy, leading to her becoming a regular writer on those shows. The demands of that along with her standup work led to her recently leaving her day job to concentrate on comedy full time. 

Pearce and Wright are just two of seven comics appearing on the final night of the festival in a show that will be recorded for CBC Radio's Laugh Out Loud program.

Paul adds that there is a second show Friday at Corks as well. He will be the MC for that one, billed as The Meltdown, performing with with Rebecca Reeds, Nick Reynoldson and Hunter Collins. 

“They are my favourite filthy people,” Paul laughs. “We encourage the filth from them. Some people don’t like that comedy, but a lot of people do. If you know what you’re coming for and can just open your mind and not be offended by everything, it’s a great show to watch.”

Tickets for the Friday and Saturday night shows are available at www.icebreakerscomedy.com/shows.