It was 1995 when standup comedian Russell Peters last performed in Red Deer.
Twenty-eight years later, the Canadian standup comedy icon is returning to the city with a performance at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Westerner Park on Sunday, Sept. 17.
“I was the middle act at that point,” Peters recalled in an interview with The Advocate.
Since his last performance in Red Deer, Peters has become one of Canada’s most well-known standup comedians. The 52-year-old has sold out arenas across the globe and has appeared in plenty of movies and TV shows over the years, including Source Code and The Indian Detective.
He won a Gemini Award in 2008. He also won a Peabody Award and the International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming for producing Hip-Hop Evolution.
“Standup is obviously my love and my job. When I’m on stage I love being on stage. But I also wanted to branch out and do other things as well. I got lucky enough to do that,” said Peters.
Peters’ stop in Red Deer is part of his Act Your Age World Tour. This will be the final Canadian performance of the tour, which began back in 2022.
“I talk a lot about being older now and dealing with millennials and Gen Z, and who are our allies and who’s against us,” said Peters.
“At the same time, I’m addressing being an old guy and still being wildly immature. It’s a real tough position to be in at my age.”
The landscape of comedy has changed throughout his career, Peters said.
“I’m not even worried about what I can’t say now because I don’t ever think about that. But I do recall saying things back then that make me go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I was saying that,’” Peter said with a chuckle.
“It has nothing to do with cancel culture. … It’s all a question of what was acceptable at the time. Even though it was acceptable I was still toeing the line, which is the same thing I’m doing today, it’s just that today it’s a much (thinner) line now.”
The venues major standup comedians have performed in have changed over the years as well, he noted.
“You’ve got everybody doing arenas now. The clubs were where you used to see people, now you’ve got to go to arenas. I don’t want to say I was in the forefront of it, but I was definitely in the early stages of it. I think Dane (Cook) was first, then it was me,” he said.
This is the eighth arena tour of Peters’ career. There will be performances throughout the U.S. until November, then he’ll perform in the Middle East, South Africa and India to wrap up the Act Your Age World Tour. Peters said he feels at home on the road.
“It’s what I know. When I don’t go anywhere I panic. I’m like, ‘Something’s wrong, my career’s over. The sky is falling, the sky is falling.”
Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketsalberta.com.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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