Kat Harlton
Photo provided via pr team
Award-winning Canadian comedy icon, Mike Ward is excited to be heading back out on the road to Toronto, ON for his first ever headline stand-up show where he will present, NOIR, at The Great Hall on July 7th.
Ward’s English stand-up show, NOIR, has sold more than 125,000 tickets to date. Not only has it made audiences laugh hysterically, but it has also led Mike to winning three Olivier Awards for Author of The Year, Show of The Year and Comedian of The Year presented by the Society of London Theatre.
Ward is also excited to be in Toronto on July 8th as well for his wildly popular podcast show, Sous Écoute, at The Comedy Bar. Sous Écoute is the most listened to French-language comedy podcast in the world with over 100 million downloads. After breaking the Guinness World Record for a live podcast presented in front of the largest crowd in the world at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, Mike decided to take his podcast on the road so people around the world could experience the show live.
Mike also hosts an English podcast called 2 Drink Minimum and his stand-up shows have been aired on TV in 20 countries, including the US, Canada, France, South Africa, Switzerland and Australia, to name a few. He has also performed at every major comedy festival on the planet and sold out shows at Edinburgh Fringe, Montreal’s Just For Laughs, and the Montreux Comedy Festival.
I had the opportunity to chat with Mike Ward about his upcoming show dates, his podcast and what’s next.
Kat: Can you share a little about yourself?
Mike: My name is Mike Ward, I’m the comedian that got fined by the Quebec Human Rights Commission, and eventually beat them in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Kat: You are heading back out on the road for new show dates, including a stop in Toronto, ON for your first ever headline stand-up show at The Great Hall on July 7th. What can fans expect from your English stand-up show, NOIR?
Mike: Love Toronto, haven’t performed here in years. I won a bunch of awards for Noir, it’s the best work I’ve ever done. I know Toronto loves dark humour, can’t wait to be in a room with people that can take a joke.
Kat: You also have a wildly popular podcast called Sous Écoute, which is the most listened to French-language comedy podcast in the world with over 100 million downloads. Tell us a bit about this podcast and how you decided to take it on the road as a live show.
Mike: We sold out the Bell Center last year, 21 thousand people were in attendance. It beat a bunch of records. It’s insane that a comedy podcast sold more tickets than any other arena shows in 2022. After the Bell Center, we decided to take it on the road in Europe and Canada, doing theatres and arenas. In Toronto we’re doing the Comedy Bar (in French), with only 20,900 less people than we had in Montreal… hahaha.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far and what have you learned along the way?
Mike: Definitely the Bell Center show, or winning at the Supreme Court level and getting so much love and support from the international comedy community. What I learned is real comics tend to love and support each other.
Kat: What else can we expect from you for the balance of 2023?
Mike: Just writing jokes and doing shows. So grateful that I get to make a lot of money doing what I love to do. Life is good.
Connect Mike Ward
Instagram: @mikewardca
Facebook: /MikeWardca
Twitter: @MikeWardca
Website: https://mikeward.ca/en