CANMORE – The Canadian comedy legend Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame will be going solo on stage for his newest stand-up performance Dark Purple Slice.
The show, which will take place Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. at artsPlace, earned its unique name after McCulloch did a show and a review gave the performance its title.
“I did a show and got a review. There was a pie chart that said I was the dark purple slice of the Kids in the Hall, which means my worldview is of dark comedy,” said McCulloch in regards to how he got the name for the show.
Although McCulloch’s humour is said to be on the dark side, he said his show is about how people use humour to ease their way through hard times.
“It’s really about how we lean on each other and use our sense of humour to make it through this beautiful and complicated world.”
McCulloch performed in Banff in 2019, but he said he’s looking forward to seeing “the hipsters and mountain people” in Canmore, as well as showing appreciation for the arts community.
“I’ve heard really nice things with that little theatre and arts community there. It’s always nice to play a nice little place in a community that maybe doesn’t get as many artists as Toronto or Calgary or something,” said McCulloch.
Dark Purple Slice is a part of the High Performance Rodeo arts festival put together by One Yellow Rabbit. Along with McCulloch’s show, there will be two more shows associated with the lineup at artsPlace.
On Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m., Hippoposthumous, by Unnatural Disaster Theatre, will hit the stage with its musical adaptation of the impact that Pablo Escobar had on Columbia when he imported four hippos to his personal zoo, which caused Columbia to have an invasive outbreak.
“It’s kind of taking that [idea] and allowing us to think about us as an invasive species, what our impact is on the environment,” said Jeremy Elbourne, executive director of artsPlace. “It’s a fun, musical-based show that has some important things to say about our impact on the environment.”
The second show, Agit Pop!, features the established drag performer Pearle Harbour, who will be in the limelight for her drag show with political commentary which also features singing classic songs by David Bowie, Tom Waits and Judy Garland, among others. Harbour will be on stage Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
“It has some thought behind it in terms of commentary on the current state of politics and the world,” said Elbourne. “It’s not your straight stand-up comedy drag show but it’s very funny. It also has music as well, there’s live music on stage and she sings.”
