'I’m exactly the idiot I was in my last year of high school': comedian Derek Edwards brings new material to the Sault

Derek Edwards has yet to catch up on his sleep from his last comedy tour, but when SooToday caught up with the acclaimed comic, he was busy throwing back coffee at his Toronto home and going through some notes in preparation for his Alls I’m Saying tour.

Described as a “riotous evening of homegrown comedy,” Edwards will bring his new, 90-minute stand-up routine to 11 cities across Ontario – with upcoming stops in North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie this week.

“You got to come into town with a big bag of tricks, you know? I mean, it’s impossible not to touch on the big show, you know, down to the south of us there. It’s hard not to cast a few stones in that direction, just for the satisfaction of having done so,” Edwards chuckles. “The rest is human nature – travel stories, just funny stuff off of the media. I’m trying to make it all relatable, so if that’s the umbrella phrase that would sit good with you, that would be my description.”

When asked about the name of his new tour, Edwards told SooToday that Alls I’m Saying is actually a nod to his northern Ontario roots.

“It’s really just a phrase I borrowed from my years growing up in Timmins, and from most folks I’ve met from the north,” he said. “It really kind of diminishes the importance of what you were just about to say.”

A winner in the best standup comic category at the Canadian Comedy Awards, Edwards says that performing in front of people that he knows in the north comes with its own set of challenges.

“If I come into town [and] I don’t know anybody, I’m working for strangers and however it goes, that’s how it goes,” Edwards told SooToday. “But if I’m coming in – as I am for all three of those towns – with relatives and/or high school buddies somehow trickled into the room, I really got fingers crossed that it’s going to be a great show, because you don’t hear the end of it if it isn’t.”

“Strangers are awesome to work for. It’s those friends that are the biggest pain in the, ahem, rectum that you can possibly imagine.”

The comedian once described as “the funniest man in Canada” by fellow comedian Rick Mercer, Edwards is really, really looking forward to bringing his tour to the Sault Community Theatre Centre this Saturday.

As it turns out, Edwards has some family ties to the Sault – and by the sounds of it, things could get a little messy after his performance.  

“I’ve got some relatives kickin’ around Sault Ste. Marie, just tell them get ready for trouble,” Edwards said. “I’m not going to be working the next three days, so there’s going to be trouble after the show - in as friendly as possible way. Prepare to feel rough Sunday morning.”

A nominee for national comedy awards more than a few times over, Edwards says that the idea to pursue standup comedy came from simply being a fan of comedy and attending shows.  

“They seemed to be having such a blast and such a terrific time, I just wanted give it a try,” said Edwards. “To me it was like bungee jumping, I swear. You just try it for the thrill, and then OK, we’ll put that away - it’s off the bucket list, you can check that off.”

“The fact that it kind of fell together as a job, as a career, that was a shock. I still can’t believe I’m doing it.”

“I’m exactly the idiot I was in my last year of high school,” he laughed. “You’re older chronologically, but you know, still feel very lighted at heart, and if you can get laughs out of strangers, I mean, what do you need? It’s a terrific scam for paying your rent.”

Edwards brings his Alls I’m Saying tour to the Sault Community Theatre Centre at White Pines Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased for $47.50 at the Sault Community Theatre Centre box office in the Station Mall.