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Comedy night to raise funds for local prom

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Comedian Hunter Collins and Friends will be ‘in the house’ at Sammy Krenshaw’s on Saturday, Jan. 25 for a comedy fundraiser.

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Proceeds from the two-hour show, 8-10 p.m., will go toward the local high school’s 2020 student prom. A total of 150 tickets ($25) are available in town at Angela’s Takeout, Sammy Krenshaw’s and the Bell Store or online at Eventbrite.ca. Groups of four or more can text 519-409-0556 for table reservations. All remaining seats not reserved are first come, first serve. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Three incredible comedians (all seen on TV) take the stage January 25th, with Collins – originally from Montreal – as the headliner.

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Hunter, who’s comedy has been lauded as “wonderfully offensive, left field irreverence,” has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Halifax Comedy Festival. A writer for MTV Canada and award-winning filmmaker, he also appeared on The Discovery Channel. His latest album “Nincom2oop” debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes comedy charts.

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A freelancer based in Toronto, the Jan. 25th Comedy Night will be Collins’ first show in Tillsonburg.

“Very excited,” said Collins, who has adapted his comedy style over 20 years in the business.

“I think a lot comedians see that as a sign of weakness. I think it’s just another challenge to hone your skill box, that much sharper. I have no desire to go out there and ruin anybody’s day anyways, so it’s not a huge compromise. It’s just a matter of removing certain words that I didn’t even know were offensive from my act.

“Audiences have become a little more sensitive, but I still like diving into the grey areas for comedy – doing stuff that people like laughing at, even though they know it’s probably something wrong. I think I try to do comedy that is boundary pushing… I try to toe the line without being absolutely vile. More like ‘naughty.’

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“I like talking about stuff that nobody talks about. You won’t find me talking about ‘life on the subway.’ I like taking something that’s really high brow and then bringing it down…”

Collins grew up in an English-speaking family in a French-speaking city, and moved to Toronto to begin his career in comedy.

“Toronto really embraced me. I really knuckled down in standup in 2007, so 12 years of standup, and before that I did a lot of sketch comedy.”

He has performed in front of crowds of 10,000 people at big outdoor shows (Young and Dundas Square), the Caribbean Festival, and theatres like Queen Elizabeth in Toronto.

“I can’t tell you how gratifying these shows are.”

It will be a much smaller stage at Sammy Krenshaw’s, but Collins is pumped to be in Tillsonburg.

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“If they walk in with a good attitude, primed to have a good time… they will laugh!”

Comedian Hunter Collins will be performing in Tillsonburg at Sammy Krenshaw’s on Jan. 25. (Contributed photo)
Comedian Hunter Collins will be performing in Tillsonburg at Sammy Krenshaw’s on Jan. 25. (Contributed photo) jpg, TN

Collins invited a couple of his closest friends to join him on stage.

“Dynamite road comics, dynamite club comics. My boy Andrew Barr, he just played the Halifax Comedy Festival and knocked it out of the park. He’s 10 years younger than me, but we connected over a love of horror movies a long time ago. He’s just money in the bank and a lot of fun to watch.

“And we’re bringing another one of my closest friends, Cal Post, he’s another club dog who’s been on Just for Laughs. Another money in the bank guy.

“It’s going to be a fun show that I thought would connect well with a town like Tillsonburg. I hesitate to say ‘in your face,’ but it will be somewhere up in the vicinity of my grill.”

cabbott@postmedia.com

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