Russell’s career begins
Canada has spawned many great comedians through the years. With such an intricate network of cross cultures in this vast nation it was inevitable. Russell Peters delivers his unique comedy to audiences worldwide with finesse and candor unlike anyone else.
Peters’ road to success began in Toronto, Ontario on September 29, 1970 when he was born of Anglo-Indian parents. For the ensuing 19 years Peters grew up brown in a predominantly white neighbourhood and, at least for some of that time, was perhaps unaware he was gathering material for his one-of-a-kind comedic styling.
Peters’ comedy is one-of-a-kind
What makes his comedy stand out is his innate knack to mimic accents and his ability to cross the fine line between being rude and being funny without insulting anyone. Not at all prejudiced when it comes to his comedy, Peters takes on all cultural quirks and stereotypes equally. Whether white, Asian or Indian doesn’t make a lick of difference to him as long as he makes his audience laugh. And laugh they do, as is evidenced by his loyal fans for the past 20 years.
Who could not help but laugh at this personable South Asian man possessing an ear-to-ear, impudent smile that, in itself, invokes laughter before he even opens his mouth? His stage presence is relaxed and inviting making acceptance of his portrayal of racial stereotypes easy. Peters’ comedy is frequently controversial, but his intent is never to be insensibly disparaging. Instead, he carefully words every routine to convey the humorous aspects of all cultures and races.
He draws on past experiences from family, childhood friends and years of observation and turns what might have been some arduous times into something to laugh about with a charm and wit that is his and his alone. He’s wet-your- pants, tears-rolling-down-your-cheeks, stomach-muscle-aching hilarious. It is literally impossible to sum up his comedy in one word.
Peters is quoted as saying ‘In my act, as much as I try to make it look like we all think and talk and behave so differently, the point is, we all do the same thing. We all have the same problems. We may have a different skin color or a different accent or language, but we all have exactly the same stuff goin' on.’
His aim is not to condone bigotry, but put it in perspective and he does it remarkably well by making his audience laugh with him and each other! Peters has shared his eclectic, ethnic humour with audiences in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, mainland China, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark, South Africa, Vietnam, the Caribbean and Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Pakistan and India, Lebanon and Jordan, Dubai, the USA and, of course, Canada. He is always welcomed with enthusiasm, anticipation and open hearts and minds.
Homecoming Tour
With his Canadian Homecoming Tour in 2007 Peters became the first comedian to be sold out at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre selling in excess of 15,000 tickets in two days for a single show, with a final tally of more than 30,000 tickets sold nationally in the two day sales period.
Awards and recognition
Russell Peters has been honoured with numerous awards and recognition for his achievements. He’s been featured at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Winnipeg Comedy Festival frequently, as well as the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. He has received four Gemini Award nominations, winning the award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series" in 2008. He hosted the 2008-09 Juno Awards and in May 2008 became Toronto’s first Global Ambassador.
