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 French philosopher Henri Bergson stated it best that "In every wit there is something of a poet.” In fact, the rules of humour are analogous to those of poetry and lend themselves to include timing, precision, synthesis, and rhythm. These poetic or rather comedic fundamentals are the underpinnings of Russell Peters’ 20-year career.
It is evident that the emergence of racial comedy specifically, controversial jokes about race and prejudice have long been fodder for comedians including George Carlin, Steve Martin, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. However, the spin created and taken by Peters’ imparts him the ability to take on almost any ethnic group or racial subject and make it funny, smart, or satirical. Recently, in Vancouver, Peters, was able to shed light on all things funny in his two-decade path to making not only us laugh, but millions around the globe.
Born in Toronto Canada, raised in Brampton, and now living in Los Angeles. Nowadays, Peters rarely is in one place for too long. Peters owns four homes: two in Toronto, one in Los Angeles, and another in Las Vegas and his life now is very different from twenty years ago. He began his career at 19, performing stand-up around his hometown of Toronto. “I started working the mic back in 1989 because I had no career plans; I had no post secondary education. It was just something I wanted to do. I was a big fan of comedy and then I told my brother, Clayton, and he took me around to a couple of venues to watch it and see what it looks like live and see if I still wanted to do it,” states Peters.
From then on, working the microphone and the stage is exactly what Peters’ path included and has been known to state that he has been bitten by the bug of getting on stage. Working diligently on his comedic craft by living his life, observing, and taking mental notes of what is happening. “I take all my mental notes up on stage with me and I talk about them. Stand-up is just you and your thoughts,” affirms Peters. The comedian has travelled across the globe to places like China, Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Dubai, Denmark, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Pakistan. Peters’ has hosted the Juno’s twice, and has repeatedly been nominated for many television and comedy awards. In addition, Peters’ first special, Russell Peters: Outsourced, was very popular, and led to the development another special entitled Russell Peters: Red, White, and Brown.
Peters notes that Indians always ask him the question of whether Russell Peters is really his name. “My response is always. Yes it is. We are Anglo-Indian, a community of Indians from India who are mixed with the British when they occupied India. Both of my parents,
Eric and Maureen Peters are Anglo-Indian, we are Christian, and our communities are found in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras.”
Currently, he is touring as part of his 20th Anniversary and fills arenas with 5,000 to 10,000 people, displaying, how there is no need for any bells and whistles in his act. There is no light show or gimmicks. Instead, there is two hours of good, old-fashioned stand-up comedy. In fact, Peters presents the audience with a ‘take it or leave it’ type style and we love him for it. He is quick to shoot down an overzealous crowd or to insult fans, especially those ones seated in the front rows of his comedic show.
Overall, his styling is self-assured, calm, cool, and quick. His act is equal parts stories, opinions, and unparalleled crowd work, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If a bit gets somewhat tiresome he changes the pace by zeroing in on a person and drilling them with numerous questions and comments. Stage-side cameras pick up the subjects of his teasing, so the audience can enjoy some laughs at someone else’s expense. Peters notes, “Vancouver is a great city. The fans have always been great to me and I do not just mean recently. They have been good to me for the past 10 years. ” Beyond tour dates, he has other projects in the works, like one with a high profile Canadian director and a documentary based on his life. He is also working on a romantic comedy project with Billy Crystal. “Billy is directing, producing, and playing the lead actresses father, while I will be the guy that gets the girl. I was excited that Billy contacted me, thought that this would be a great project form me, and it truly is a great opportunity to work with Billy.”
It is well-know that laughter is one of life’s best medicines for ensuring good health. Having the ability to laugh at oneself is even healthier. Therefore, comedy focused on a particular social, ethnic, geography, political, or religious subject can produce laugh until your stomach hurts type of response. Comedians can use humour to raise discussions rarely heard elsewhere in society, according to a professor of cross-cultural studies at an American University. "With comedy you can make fun of another race or yourself and it is not so abrasive, especially if it is self-deprecating."
"I think as long as it is funny and smart and satirical, there is a way to take on almost any subject," states Peters. His approach shows signs of influences from beyond the New York comedy club scene, where he uses silly puns and double entendres. Overall, Peters has an astounding talent for detailing racial differences and problems, but rather than exploiting these items for comic gain, he makes them seem so ridiculous that boundaries appear to dissolve amid the laughter. His signature line “Somebody gonna getta hurt real bad” has garnered him much laughter and is placed integrally into his 20th anniversary act. Moreover, it may have taken Peters 20 years to get to where he is now, but it can be certain he has much more in store for audiences.
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