I really liked Eric Hebert’s concept for his stand up comedy show that he was a Quebecoise spy on an undercover mission in Canada in an alternative universe where Quebec is its own country. Unfortunately, Hebert’s material doesn’t make it far up off the ground.
One would think that there would be tons of material focused on the Francophone poking fun at Anglophonic Canada and one would think that there would be fresh material poking fun at Anglophonic Canada coming from a comedian from Quebec. Yet, Hebert’s act is all recycled stereotypical jokes about Calgarian Conservatives, Anne of Green Gables’ house, the Ontarian wasteland and Halifax’s penchant to allow pedestrians to cross the street wherever they would like.
There were a few jokes that I didn’t get that the Francophones sitting beside me laughed heartily at. I enjoyed the few jokes that used plays on French words that sound inappropriate when spoken with an English accent. I wanted more of Hebert’s own insights and experiences and reflections of our various cultures with a clarity of arc to maximize the potential for humour. I also wanted him to stop pacing, please.
TWISI Rating: 
Undercover at the Atlantic Fringe Festival has closed.
