British-born comedian Chris Gibbs, who opened for the sold out run of Stranger to Hard Work starring Cathy Jones last summer, has returned to Victoria Playhouse with his new one-man show about life, death, family, and fatherhood. Like Father, Like Son? SORRY (which premiered at the 2009 Toronto Fringe Festival, where it won Patron’s Pick) is billed as a stand-up comedy show but it’s so much more. Gibbs, the creator and star, mines his life for comedy gold. He brings us into his world of memorable characters and noble self-deprecation.
Chris Gibbs (who has toured extensively as a stand-up comedian and improviser, written and performed 5 hit, award-winning one-man shows, & was a regular guest on NBC’s comedy series Howie Do It) now lives in Toronto with his Canadian wife and son, is sensitive to the fact audiences may be offended by words like “vaginal”, or “fallopian”. He mentions that words can be more palatable when spoken in a cartoon voice; so he says them like Scooby Doo. Gibbs is also apologetic when he says his son is blonde-haired, blue-eyed and tall for his age. But he doesn’t mean to brag; he’s only stating facts.
One of my favourite parts is when Gibbs makes light of the fact his good-looking son has all the dominant traits of his mother. He launches into the interaction that must have taken place between the sperm and egg to result in a complete lack of genetic representation on the part of the Gibbs family.
The most vivid scene Gibbs paints is the birth of his son, Beckett, by way of caesarean section. He uses voices, physicality & plenty of his patented Gibb-erish to introduce the different personalities taking part, one of which is an overly-sensitive anaesthesiologist. His Hugh Grant impression, I might add, was also right on.
Gibbs, who kept the laughs coming in rapid succession in this light-hearted & clean (which this audience, I’m certain, was very appreciative for) two set stand-up routine, was quick to point out his shyness but seemed very at ease on the Victoria Playhouse stage, appearing unwilling to leave it at the end of the night. He thanked his audience members profusely and asked them to tell everyone they know about the show.
And that’s what I plan to do.
Like Father, Like Son? SORRY is playing at the Victoria Playhouse September 9th to 16th.
Review by Kimberly Johnston and PL Holden Used by permission. Originally posted on http://www.onrpei.ca.
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