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  • Arthur Simeon brings global wit and whimsy to the Sid

    January 25, 2025

    From Kampala to Courtenay, comedian Arthur Simeon is set to make his Comox Valley debut with his signature mix of sharp wit, storytelling and global perspective on Saturday, February 15.

    Simeon has built a reputation for transforming his life experiences into captivating, relatable comedy, becoming a familiar face on CBC, the Comedy Network and stages across North America. As part of the Sid Williams Theatre Society’s Blue Circle Series, his act promises a journey filled with reflection, connections and laughs.

    “They can expect stories and my excitement – it’s my first time in Courtenay,” he shares. “I’m a storyteller, so I’ll be sharing my life so far and my comedy journey.”

    Fresh from a month in East Africa, where he performed in Uganda and Kenya, Simeon brings a show shaped by his recent travels. “This will be my first performance back in Canada since then, so they’ll see a maybe more mature person.” But, he adds, it’s still silly him. No matter where he is performing, “the core of the story is me. I'm talking about my experiences.”

    Growing up in Kampala, Uganda, where stand-up comedy wasn’t widely recognized as a career, his comedy journey began at 19 when an unexpected opportunity brought him to Canada.

    “Peterborough was the first school that gave me an acceptance letter and a scholarship,” he explains. “I didn’t know much about Canada, but from my part of the world, any sort of ‘yes’ is an opportunity you don’t take lightly.”

    It was during his time at university, while studying economics, that Simeon discovered his comedic spark. Hosting cultural events for international students ignited his love of performing. “In my second year, they asked me to co-host the event,” he recalls. “I had so much fun. And I ended up hosting three in a row… It wasn’t quite stand-up, but I was telling terrible jokes at the time and having that experience in front of an audience.”

    A parent in the audience recognized his potential and suggested he try stand-up. “I didn’t know what that meant, but I went down the rabbit hole,” Simeon says. “I ended up going to a comedy club, watching it, and then signing up for an amateur night in Toronto. That was it. I never looked back.”

    By his early twenties, Simeon had fully committed to stand-up, bypassing the traditional “day job” path. Performing at bar shows and comedy clubs in Toronto, he began exploring Canada through venues run by the club he worked for.

    His big break came when he was invited to perform at Just For Laughs’ Homegrown Show, a showcase for emerging talent. “It went really well,” he says, noting that it led to televised performances for HBO Canada, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and Just For Laughs and regular appearances on CBC Radio’s The Debaters and Laugh Out Loud, cementing his reputation as a comedian with a unique voice and perspective.

    Reflecting on his career, Simeon sees each milestone as part of an ongoing journey. “There’s always room for improvement,” he says. “The joy of the pursuit is that it’s never done. Every show, every album, I look at it as a marker of that stage of my career and life.”

    About 10 years ago, he released his debut comedy album, Born and Raised, a collection of early jokes that introduced his work. His second album, The Blackest Panther, released in February 2020, explored themes of race and identity, inspired by the cultural impact of Marvel’s Black Panther. However, the pandemic disrupted his plans to tour the material, forcing him to adapt.

    “Those jokes felt dated by the time the world opened up again,” Simeon explains. “We were all going through so much… and it felt strange to present material from 2018 or 2019.”

    Now, Simeon is crafting his third album, which he describes as his most personal work yet. “This one is going to be more revelatory,” he says. “It’s about how I feel about the way the world works. I’ll be revealing a bit of my soul.”

    Courtenay audiences will be among the first to hear this new material. “It’s the first unveiling of the concept,” he says, noting the show will also feature fresh insights from his recent trip home.

    When asked about pre-show rituals, Simeon shares his thoughtful connection to each performance. “I like to walk around, see the sights, listen to local conversations, get a feel for the place,” he says. “I try to include a little bit that’s specific to that place – something the audience enjoys, something that’s just for us.”

    As for what he hopes audiences take away from his Courtenay performance? “First of all, I hope they laugh. That’s the big thing,” he says. “I just hope that they appreciate the diversity of humour and the fact that even though I live on the east coast of Canada, I was born in East Africa, that there’s enough connection there that we can all sort of get together on a Saturday in February when it’s freezing and have a laugh.”

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