Mark Allan
Special to the Record
Performers are not usually invited back to a venue two straight years unless they were popular the first time.
Since comedian Mike Delamont returns Oct. 14 to the Sid Williams Theatre to reprise his God is a Scottish Drag Queen act, is it safe to assume things went well last season?
“I think that people had a good time,” Delamont says in an interview. “I know that the title scares off some folks, but once people see the show, they often become big fans, so I think there was a real want from the audience to have the sequel. They were an awesome crowd.”
His show this time is subtitled The Second Coming. Since God is a Scottish Drag Queen has evolved into a series of four shows, should we assume The Second Coming is part two? “There are currently four different one-act shows in the series,” he replies. “The show that played last year was parts one and two together, and The Second Coming is parts three and four.”
Anyone who caught the previous performance will recognize the colourful character Delamont is portraying. He says it’s the “same character, and same overall concept, with entirely different material.
“It’s nice because the audience that came last year can enjoy an all-new show, and the folks that missed it can come and see this new one and not worry about being out of the loop.”
Delamont, a Canadian boy from Victoria, says God’s Scottish accent is a work in progress.
“Oh, I don’t think I have mastered it. It gets a bit sloppy sometimes, but I am always trying to make it better.”
An admittedly imperfect accent hasn’t stopped people from buying more than 40,000 tickets in the past year. Delamont has sold out major theatres from coast to coast. After launching his standup comedy career in 2011, he’s been nominated twice for the Just For Laughs Best Comedy Award as well as being in the running for three Canadian Comedy Awards.
How tempting is it for him to use his influence with God to win a CCA?
“Well, unless God lives in Ontario, I don’t think we will have much luck,” he responds wryly. “Lots of people call them the Toronto Comedy Awards, as they don’t really include the rest of this delightful country.
“I don’t even know if they still do the awards to be honest. Fingers crossed maybe one day I will win one.”
After some misfires, he has released his debut comedy album.
“I have been wanting to release a comedy album for a while now and I was never able to. Either I didn’t like the show or I didn’t like the recording or some other excuse.
“A few months back, I had a perfect storm when I had just finished a run of standup shows, so it was well-rehearsed and ready, and then I was asked to headline last minute at my hometown club. I called my favourite recording engineer and he was available! We didn’t advertise that it was a recording and we just jumped in.”
Delamont says it couldn’t have worked better.
“I’m really happy with it. The sound quality is great and the audience was amazing. People can go on iTunes if they want to download it or they can pop over to my website (mikedelamont.com) if they want a physical copy, or they can come and see God Is a Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming and get it at the merch table!”
Mike Delamont performs Oct. 14 as part of the Sid Williams Theatre Society’s 2017 – 2018 Blue Circle Series. For concert details and tickets, visit sidwilliamstheatre.com, phone 250-338-2430 or visit 442 Cliffe Ave.