In celebration of their 10-year anniversary, the Princess Café has planned two stand-up comedy shows featuring some of Canada’s hottest up-and-coming comics.
On Dec. 1, comedian and writer Jordan Foisy launched the stand-up series as part of his Standing on the Edge of Unspeakable Anxiety tour, in preparation for his upcoming comedy album.
Inspiration for the inordinately named tour came from a conversation between Foisy and his therapist. As a man unafraid of laying his mental health and political beliefs bare, Foisy blended profound, observational humour with cynical, yet silly banter to deliver an exceptional set.
In conversation with Foisy, he noted numerous global events and arising social norms which contribute to his pervasive critique of the human condition. Prior to landing in Waterloo, Foisy tweeted a video sharing his primary anxiety of the K-W tech bubble. Noting the immense surveillance capabilities of local conglomerates such as Google, and in an act of protest against social media saturation, Foisy proudly presented his cellphone: a generic flip phone. I assumed it was a gag, but sure enough Foisy confirmed his archaic leanings and even called for others to follow suit.
“Really, I think we should just get rid of the Internet … whatever gains we got from it I don’t think were worth it,” said Foisy.
“Before we had the Internet we still did all the fun shit that we love now. There was still good music, there was still good movies, you could still go to the bar and go on dates.”
Concerning dating, Foisy confirmed that the flip phone has made it harder. In his comedy set he detailed the struggles of being single in his 30’s. In a painfully relatable bit, Foisy spoke of ruining every sexy moment by enthusiastically taking his pants off only to exhibit a landslide of coins onto the floor. Foisy compared the resulting crash to a cautioning alarm for the woman.
“Warning, warning, the man you are about to sleep with eats eggs for supper all the time,” quipped Foisy.
That one hit way too close to home. In fact, my date could barely contain herself as Foisy ranted about his scarily relatable romantic endeavors. What makes Foisy a great comic is his ability to unravel the absurdity in our darkest, most arbitrary and vulnerable moments.
Speaking on his path to improving his mental health, Foisy shared that anti-depressants finally allowed him to get over his fear of vampires. This isn’t simply some “so random” punchline, but rather a poignant commentary on our own ridiculous anxieties that paralyze us both emotionally and socially. In my own terms, my “vampire” is a pervasive fear of dying suddenly of a heart attack, despite being young and in good health. It’s like every time I smell something weird I forget what burnt toast is supposed to smell like.
Although Foisy is certainly an anxious person, he assured that not all his fears are rooted in his anxiety disorder. Concerning recent political events, Foisy assured the rise of fascism in the West is very real and demands our attention, but commented on the effects pervasive media has had on our response.
“We’re moving into like an enjoyable dystopia in that we can have craft beer and tasty sandwiches, but we’re being spied upon by fascists,” Foisy said.
“I’d much rather want to write jokes about food and personal relationships as opposed to reckoning with the fact that Nazis are around again.”
Foisy closed out his set recalling recent adventures with his mother. Proving the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, Foisy told of a time his drunken mother proclaimed: “I grew up with this guy!” in asserting her relationship with her kin. It drew the end to a deeply personal yet astoundingly funny set where Foisy rarely relinquished the smile on his face.
“Stand-up feels really good right now,” Foisy said.
“I want to connect with people even more now because hopefully that’ll keep us alive and I think people also want it more than ever.”
On Dec. 18, comedians Sara Hennessey, Tim Gilbert and Nick Nemeroff will take the stage at Princess Café to close out their December comedy series.