Hailed by audiences and critics from coast to coast, comedian Ron James has been filling theatres for 25 years. He enjoys performing for people all over the country, and exploring Canada on the way. “I love the breadth and depth of this country. I love exploring it.”
He has hilarious stories about driving to his own gigs, and just how challenging Canadian winters can be. He says that once, on the highway between Grande Prairie and Fort St. John, freezing rain nearly caused him to slide right off the road. When we gently suggest that he might be successful enough to hire a driver to get him to his shows, he guffaws. “I’m too old and flatulent to travel with anyone else.” And so he’ll arrive in Banff on June 1, with a show that includes some classic Ron James bits, as well as new material.
James got his comedic start at Toronto’s Second City in 1981, then moved to LA in 1990. He moved back to Canada after some commercial and comedy work that was not enough to pay the bills, and he describes his time in LA as life-changing.
“Los Angeles sired my Canadian dream. I was passive before then. When I returned to Canada I really focused on standup and honed my craft in clubs for five years.”
A Canadian TV series called Blackfly made him well-known to Canadian audiences. “And then,” he says, “after Blackfly ended, that’s when I really discovered this country. Once, when I was driving by Lake Superior, I felt like I had driven into a painting by The Group of Seven. This was what I wanted. After all those days in LA, waiting for the phone to ring, or stuck in traffic, coming back to Canada helped me grow my career. Starting with small numbers, it felt so organic.”
He loves playing live shows. “They’re visceral. A live show lets me play with a bigger canvas than an eight-minute standup slot does. It’s been a rewarding and wonderful run.”
And, he says, he’s particularly happy to return to Alberta. “Canadians are just decent people, and the west has always been the land of the second chance.” Born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, James adds, “The west gives people new life, and gives Maritimers like me such opportunities.”
He describes his travels in his book All Over the Map: Rambles and Ruminations from the Canadian Road. “That was truly what kept me going. People and places. Around every bend there was a new epiphany. You have to enjoy the journey. And I do.”
He has one last wisecrack about how long he’s been at this: “When I first started out, I used to have a scotch after the show. Now I have two Tylenol and a bottle of Gatorade.”
Ron James performs at the Jenny Belzberg Theatre at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity on June 1.
