Thursday, January 31, 2008

Andy Jones in Peterborough

Andy Jones brings Newfoundland comedy to Market Hall shows; Character Uncle Val 'a reverse Wingfield'

from The Peterborough Examiner

Canadian comic Andy Jones brings his brand of outport humour to Peterborough on Feb. 7 and 8 at The Market Hall.

It is billed as An Evening with Uncle Val, the opening of his Ontario tour, states a press release.

"Jones has been a key figure in shaping the character of Canadian comedy, beginning in the mid-1970s with his participation in the Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO and extending through till today with his varied and prolific career as a writer, actor, director and filmmaker in the comedy field," states Bill Kimball, artistic producer of local arts presenter Public Energy, in a press release. This will be the first performance of An Evening with Uncle Val in Ontario and the first time Jones has performed in Peterborough.

Jones will also offer a master class in sketch comedy during his three-day stay in the city, an opportunity for aspiring local actors and comics to get some training. "Andy doesn't do this kind of thing very often," Kimball stated. "It's a real treat for us."

Jones said, in an Examiner telephone interview from Banff, that he's been performing his Uncle Val character since 1978.

The initial character was based on an aimitation of a St. John's entertainer...

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.