The Ballad of Bruce: The Kid from the Hall on his New Stage Show, The Kids in the Hall Season 6 and Why You Shouldn’t Call it a Comeback.

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Photo by Marty Younge

It’s a very exciting moment in Toronto comedy right now. The Kids in the Hall have reunited.

Their latest series begins streaming on Amazon prime May 13th and The Documentary Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks was the doc darling of SXSW and Hot Docs. The influence of the legendary sketch troupe on the Toronto scene is always omnipresent and fundamental, so to spout the Amazon branded reunion as a comeback will surely set off alarms of a bandwagoner. Stories will be cued up of this late night show or that writers room where Bruce, Dave, Mark, Scott or Kevin graced it with their presence. Yes, in Toronto we are all the bratty children of The Kids in the Hall and it’s a good season when our daddies come home to see our recitals.

Tonight’s show, that I’m excited to be attending, will create just that type of a memory and it’s not even in Toronto but two hours away at a Church in Paris, Ontario. It is the premiere of Bruce McCulloch’s (the director/producer/kid) newest stage show Tales of Bravery and Stupidity. A line stretches around the block of the towering reddish brown church. Locals slow down to ensure they aren’t missing out on a fish fry. As the crowd files in and gets situated in the pews, it is an unlikely but unified congregation.

Effortlessly cool gen-Xers adorned in Chuck Taylors and nice jeans, cool suits and statement-glasses sit amongst the mulletted punk hipsters. They stand shoulder to shoulder with grandmas (who could be named Helen) sipping ciders and coming around to the idea of godless comedians performing at their church.

The set is surprisingly sparse but McCulloch doesn’t need much; he’s a pro. A desk off to the side for more non-sequitur material, a space center stage mostly reserved for McCulloch signature talk-sardonic-singing are enough. McCulloch proceeds to fill every varied moment. Telling stories mostly, jumping around in time and tone: a game he plays with his daughter pretending not to remember her name dubbed “Alzheimer’s insurance” gets laughs from the audience for different reasons; young druggy stories blended with hindsight kaleidoscope context.

His vulnerability on stage is amplified by the odd intimacy of sitting in a church at dusk being able to see exactly how everyone is laughing. And no matter who you pray or don’t pray to, McCulloch yelling swear words with a pipe organ in the background feels fun and naughty.

In Tales of Bravery and Stupidity McCulloch’s method for post pandemic humour requires acknowledgement of just how little control we have over it all. Undeniable wedges of humanity get the audience right there, together. And there is this feeling that this is the best thing that anyone in these parts has seen in a while.

“The older I get the more I want to spend time with true outsiders like you.” The congregation erupts. Memory made.

There is a self-actualized punk rock zen to McCulloch as he speaks about where his head and heart is lately.

Photo by Marty Younge

I spoke with McCullough about his new touring show, and the re-emergence of KITH.

“My stage show is my favorite thing. It’s a whole set of ideas I was fumbling with, especially that at this moment we all need to talk to each other. What have we been through? Who are we? Let’s be kind to each other and be as funny as hell. There’s a beautiful simplicity to working a show that is yours.”

The double edged sword of making comedy as beloved as Kids in the hall is existing as that person long after that person has grown up. It’s an experience McCulloch says has evolved with age. “I used to not like when people came up to me when the show was on. I just got scared as I got older it was just like.. that’s nice. Hearing people say I was a queer kid who saw your show and I realized I could be different or me and my dad watched your show together. Once you hear those stories it’s not about sign my autograph! it’s oh I connected to you and this is how.”

For all of the hype around the cultural moment surrounding the troupe, McCulloch says authenticity was paramount to everyone involved.“We don’t look at it as a comeback or reboot, we’re like the weather, it sort of just gathers. My assistants see what the cruelty of a Kids in the Hall email chain can look like it’s part beat poetry part sand script. It makes no sense! someone answers the question that was asked 3 weeks ago. Out of all of that we eventually got on a zoom call and said let’s do this.  We wanted to do the OG series with the shadowy men music and sketches”

McCulloch’s contribution to the aforementioned influence of The Kids in Toronto comes in the form of the Tallboyz a sketch comedy troupe McCulloch discovered and developed into a show for the CBC where he also serves as director and executive producer. Tallboyz has had 3 seasons and won 4 Canadian Screen awards which they also hosted this year. The show has recently been picked up by Fuse for U.S distribution. “The Tallboyz excite me because they have different cultural points of views. They are fresh and have wonderful souls and are talking about stuff. They like we were the five of us and we’d have friends who were writers and actors who did things with us and the Tallboyz they really are about that community. They always want to hire their friends and not just cuz they are friends but because they are talented people in that community. There is too much talent in Toronto with nowhere for it to go. It’s nice to be in that pool where we can bring in some of the other people too.”

A theme in all McCulloch’s work and projects is the authoritarian, the hard ass, the conformer getting sent up and taken down a few pegs. Sympathy for the pedantic, for the underdog audiences may never get to say what they really want to those who have power over them but they can laugh with Bruce as a stand in and that helps.

The new season of Kids in the hall starts streaming May 13th. Tales of Bravery and stupidity will run at the Soho playhouse June 1st-12th

For all the places he has floated to in his dynamic career. At this moment he’s happy hovering right where he’s at.

“The Kids in the Hall are like family for me I sort of revert when I come home for Christmas we have our own language and our own set of rules. The best idea wins, it’s about being joyful about the best idea.”

Photo by Marty Younge

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