You may have seen Canadian comedian Stewart Francis on Mock The Week but you will never have fully appreciated his genius for the art - particularly that of one-liners - until you've seen him live. Tonight, we had the pleasure of just that, on his farewell tour, at the beautiful Buxton Opera House.
Supported by fellow Canadian Alison June-Smith - who has been residing in Manchester now for 8 years - we were taken on a journey through their hilarious routines of UK culture. Whilst her appearance was somewhat unexpected, she was made extremely welcome to Buxton for her first time visit. Featuring political references like the legalisation of marijuana in Canada and the same considerations here ‘for medical purposes’, along with her knowledge and experiences of brands such as Boots, WHSmith and Greggs, it is clear that she has fully immersed herself in British culture. Coupled with her theory that names link to personalities - Vicky, Dean, Angie, Jeff (not Geoffrey) and her namesakes - the audience played victim to her defense, which contributed to their warmth as she involved them. Being a former teacher, her confidence was clear and her continuity brilliant.
Then, after a brief interval, Stewart entered for his very clever string of puns. From technology - and his infamous use of the prefix ‘hashtag (#)’ - to his experience of B&Bs, he is very much down with the kids (all 17 of them, and his brothers and wives) and made sure that he is accepting of all - however defined - with everyone able to indulge in his talent. With reference to the times he reminisced about where he was when famous people died, his continuity is brilliant and, his excuse of a cold justified the moment he referred back to a previous joke to add a punchline, something he did with various jokes in that he provided alternatives ones. The occasional inclusion of sound effects added to his exceptional timing of verbal and physical gags.
Having moved to the UK 18 years ago to live in Barnstable, he took the opportunity to thank everyone for their support and announced that he would be focussing on his past love of acting. We wish him well also, for his future and the remainder of the tour which ends at Hammersmith Apollo.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 14/4/19
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