A wacky look at life

CANADA’S NUMBER one stand-up export, Russell Peters, will be back in the City of Angels tomorrow night, offering his take on his favourite communities, jobs he can’t understand, cell phones, dating and his uncle, a guy who has never been punched in the mouth. Part of his “Almost Famous World Tour”, the show will also feature the comic’s official tour DJ, Spinbad from New York City, as well as some exclusive video footage.
In 2012 Peters’ sold out debut show in Bangkok had the sell-out crowd laughing so much it hurt. He’s also sold out shows across the globe including at Madison Square Garden, The Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Sydney Opera House, The Hammersmith Apollo (four times!), London’s O2 Arena, General Motors Place in Vancouver as well as in the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Norway and India. In fact, Peters was the first South Asian act to sell out the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and broke the box office record in the UK for selling the highest number of tickets – more than 16,000 – for an individual comedy show.
Born and bred in Toronto, Canada, Peters began performing in his hometown in 1989. In 1992, he met comedian George Carlin, one of his biggest influences, who advised him to get on stage whenever and wherever possible. Peters said he “took that advice to heart, and I think that’s the reason I am where I am now.” In 2007, he hosted one of Carlin’s last shows before Carlin’s death the following year. Peters has more than 75 million views on YouTube and was listed the Forbes list of Top Earning Comedians in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
His stand-up performances usually feature observational comedy, using humour to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers to his own experiences growing up in an Indian family, and impersonates the accents of various ethnic groups to poke fun at them. As he told an audience in San Francisco, “I don’t make the stereotypes, I just see them”. In a 2006 interview with The National, Peters observed that he didn’t intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but tried to “raise them up through humour”.
Peters is widely known for his punch line, “Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad”. It ends a joke he tells about his childhood with a traditional Indian father, who used corporal punishment on his sons. Another punch line is “Be a man! Do the right thing!”, which relates to a story of a Chinese man trying to get him to pay more for an item at a shop.
When interviewer Larry King asked Peters, “Is there such a thing as too taboo?”, Peters replied, “I don't talk about religion because I think people are a little weird about religion, especially nowadays, and I’m more of a science guy than I am a beliefs guy. I’m more into facts than I am beliefs.”

>> Russell Peters’ Almost Famous World Tour takes place tomorrow at Centara Grand at CentralWorld. Tickets from Bt2,000 to Bt5,000 are available at Thai Ticket Major outlets. Call (02) 262 3838 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

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