Comedy show ready for the Imperial stage

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Kenny Robinson knows how to read a crowd.

And, in his four decades as a stand-up comedian, he knows when his material’s working and when he needs to make a quick change.

“I say what I think is funny,” Robinson told Brunswick News from his home in Toronto. “I love topical, political humour, I love sexual material, I love improvising with an audience… If the first two or three jokes don’t work, though, I know I have to make a shift. Sometimes I’ll go into topical material and the audience may not be up to date on what’s going on in current events and you gotta make the switch.”

Robinson, along with fellow comedians Lisa Baker and Kevin Farley, will be bringing that comedy to Saint John when the LOLfest rolls in to the Imperial Theatre on April 14. The audience, Robinson promises, should expect a mix of his comedic style during his set in the show.

“It keeps me going, you know? I get depressed when I don’t have new material,” he said. “In over 40 years of comedy there’s been great shows and some bad shows, but you need to expect that.”

While comedians squaring off with hecklers has become a common occurrence in recent years, Robinson said he rarely hears heckles from the audience and, if it does happen, he puts a stop to it.

“I work fast and, I think, right away I establish the fact the stage is mine and I have the microphone,” he said. “I don’t tolerate them. I mean, there have been wars between myself and the audience when they weren’t digging me… but I don’t put up with it.”

Johnny McFadden, president of LOLfest.ca, said he’s been wanting to bring a comedy show to the Imperial for quite some time and he’s looking forward to see how the audience reacts to the trio of comedians on the bill. It’s important, he said, to offer people the opportunity to relax and share a laugh.

“There’s going to be a lot of laughs. Kevin Farley is the brother of the late Chris Farley, who a lot of people would remember from Saturday Night Live,” he said. “Everyone needs a good laugh, I think. The world’s very stressful and everyone goes to work, does chores, pay bills… A lot of people need a break from reality and we all need to just have a good laugh and get out after the winter months.”

Robinson agrees and said with the comedians coming to the Port City he’s not expecting the audience to be disappointed.

“Nobody’s hotter than Lisa Baker right now,” Robinson says. “I knew her when she first was starting out and, since then, she’s become a TikTok sensation, and she’s found her voice and she’s just destroying stages everywhere she goes.”

The LOLfest comes to Saint John at the Imperial Theatre on Sunday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://imperialtheatre.ca/