Comedian Don Burnstick brings his humour back to the Prairies with L’il Don on the Prairie, Sept. 8 at the Vic Juba Community Theatre.
Burnstick is a Cree man from Alexander First Nation, Treaty Six Territory who has been using humour to educate and entertain.
For the past 30 years, Burnstick has delivered his observations about the world and continues to include the classics people have grown to learn and love, by creating “his own little path.”
The live show Burnstick performs is for all the fans that grew up with the stand-up, and for the fans that will grow old with him.
“The Elders told me when I first started doing this, ‘don’t swear.’ I don’t cuss in my shows, and I don’t do my shows where there’s alcohol,” he noted.
When Burnstick first started out in the business, fellow comedians would ask him, “How can you be a comedian if you don’t swear and you don’t do lounges? That’s not comedy.’ The
Elders told me that’s what you’ve got to do.”
“So, I stayed doing that and I had very small shows. A really slow start and then it just took off. It just went absolutely nuts. Now to book me, like casinos, they shut their bar down. When I walk on stage, we have 2,000 people come in there and we just have a wild time, and I do a lot of adult material. I just don’t cuss,” he explained. “Once you say the ‘f’ word, you have to stay there, and there’s no creativity.”
According to Burnstick, there’s no maneouverability with the ‘f’ word. “You could say that word with just a gesture or an eye look or a smile. It’s funny to tell a clean dirty joke.”
When not on the stage performing, Burnstick uses his platform to share wellness-based initiatives with his fans.
“I use the humour to promote myself and people dig a little bit deeper and say, ‘this guy’s sober, and he’s wellness-based.’ I address serious issues like diabetes, men’s wellness, healing, cultural appropriation, and cultural awareness,” he added.
Burnstick spends half his time on the road, but he works independently and tours year-round. “I do Indigenous events and non-Indigenous events. The thing is non-Indigenous comedians can do Indigenous events too, but they just don’t try.”
Canadian bands, including Harlequin, April Wine, Blue Rodeo and Trooper perform in Indigenous communities, Burnstick said. “And non-Indigenous comedians should try to do that. There’s a venue for that, but they don’t.”
Burnstick’s live performance starts at 7 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit online at vicjubatheatre.ca/tickets.
