Hundreds of people gathered at Maxwell’s on Saturday, Jan. 21 to come together in the spirit of good times with buds and shirtless bellies. Randy and Mr. Lahey, infamous trailer park supervisors from Nova Scotia’s Trailer Park Boys, brought their duo act to Waterloo and entertained the massive crowd with songs, skits and lots of slurring.
Tickets for the show sold out quickly, and Maxwell’s owner and manager Paul Maxwell was pleased with the local enthusiasm for the drunken pair: “We sold out the entire 700 person capacity for this show. It’s standing room only, like most of our shows. We like people to be able to get right up close. We’re not like Centre in the Square, with seats and rows and separation from the artists.”
Despite bulging numbers of bros in security guard khaki shirts, the venue was incredibly comfortable, which made watching the show even more enjoyable. There was space to escape the big drunken ball of fans in the middle of the room, while still affording a great view.
Several bar stations were set up around the venue, ensuring no one had to wait too long for a drink. Maxwell’s is a space with the ability to handle hundreds of people without making it noticeable. All the bar and security staff were in high spirits, and while they kept good control on rowdy people, they also were aware of the context of the show, and kept cool heads around all the loopy fans.
The show opened with Randy coming onstage wearing his shirt, which the crowd immediately rejected and began chants of “take it off!” The show escalated with crowd involvement and raunchiness from there, with tables full of props like plungers, masks and funnels.
One highlight of the audience involvement aspect of the show was that both Randy and Lahey were very respectful of whoever volunteered to be onstage. There was one young lady in particular who was very willing to be as bawdy as they were (particularly with the plunger) but they seamlessly made sure she was comfortable and consenting without taking away from the humour of the act. As one of the outnumbered women in the audience, and as definitely the only sober person there, I very much appreciated this.
The show was mostly what one could expect from the pair, lots of gay sex jokes, slurred words, and liquor bottles chugged. It was so interesting to step back and watch a room full of party brahs cheer and clap for a gay couple describing their sex life. And it was absolutely not sarcastic or exploitive in any way. It was awesome!
Lahey also led the crowd in a number of touching toasts, including one to deceased cast member Richard Collins, who played the painfully overweight Philadelphia “Phil” Collins. He also led the crowd in a toast that confused some, but really made the night amazing for me.
Lahey raised his cup and shouted “Who knows that fucker Jian Ghomeshi?” The crowd responded with a confused mix of booing and acknowledgement cheering. Lahey continued: “He’s that bastard that hurt all those women! And our Lucy called him out for it! So here’s to Lucy for being a tough f—king woman!” That elicited huge cheers from the women of the audience and was the show winning moment for me. Lucy Decoutere is the actress who played Lucy, Ricky’s on and off spouse on Trailer Park Boys, and was also the first woman to speak out against Jian Ghomeshi’s nefarious extra curricular activities. I never thought I would get to cheers with a room full of like-minded people to the woman who spoke out against that creep. It was unexpected, and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling of camaraderie.
The duo performed a few short skits, including a hilariously costumed original work called “Buttman and Robin,” which explored the vast comedic potential of a tiny mask on a big man’s face. They threw out props and gifts to the audience and spoke to individuals close enough to the stage to rag on.
The actor’s style is very extemporaneous, and this made for some excellent missed timing jokes and ad libbing.
Near the end of the show, Lahey lead the crowd in the Canadian national anthem with a few updated lyrics. He provided modernized lyrics, for example, “Let’s keep our land glorious and free,” instead of “God keep our land.” Little touches like that were inclusive and yet didn’t stall the pace of the comedy.
Overall, the Randy and Lahey show at Maxwell’s was an amazing experience. I laughed, I was intrigued, and laughed lots more. Both actors have great skill in slipping meaningful insights amongst their jokes.
Imprint sat down one on two with Pat Roach and John Dunsworth, the actors that play Randy and Lahey before their show on Saturday. They offered tips on dealing with the Trump presidency and also taught a few elocution tricks. Check out Imprint online for the full interview!
