{"id":28490,"date":"2026-09-23T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=28490"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:05:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T21:05:49","slug":"comedian-explores-origins-of-90s-gay-joke-in-ribald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2026\/09\/23\/comedian-explores-origins-of-90s-gay-joke-in-ribald\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedian explores origins of \u201990s gay joke in Ribald<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comedian Shawn Hitchins has had quite the decade. Finding success early in his career and even sparking a movement (Ginger Pride Walk) in Edinburgh, it would be understandable to feel like the universe (or whoever is in charge of it) is smiling down on him. Unfortunately for Hitchins, life is a big fan of the ol\u2019 sucker punch, and he soon found himself facing compounding personal losses and a cancer diagnosis, not to mention the strains the global pandemic placed on those whose livelihood depends on large crowds in packed venues.<\/p>\n

Processing these things was fertile ground in which Hitchins began to grow his new touring show, Ribald<\/i>, which he will soon be bringing to audiences in Victoria, his first time performing in the city since leaving Toronto and relocating to Vancouver four years ago. For those unfamiliar with the word \u201cribald,\u201d it means vulgar, hilarious, rude, and sexy in equal measures; exactly what Hitchins was going for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Comedian Shawn Hitchins explores the history of a \u201990s gay joke in Ribald<\/em> (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 just a filthy word,\u201d says Hitchins. \u201cI love it. I feel like we need to bring back all those old words. Old, filthy words.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the show may well be filthy, it\u2019s also shot through with some history, and chronicles Hitchins\u2019 search for the truth of his comedic roots. It all started for the comedian, who is gay himself, with a gay joke told to him in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u201990s gay joke is the first joke that I learned when I was 10 and held on to until [now],\u201d he says. \u201cDid I understand it? Why would a 10-year-old tell this joke? Why did the adults think it was funny?\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the questions he mused about at 10, and the questions that led him to find the answers at 44. While he knew that the joke came to him from the back of his school bus in the town of Egypt, Ontario, and was likely told to him, \u201cthe only gay kid in school,\u201d to gauge his reaction, he started to wonder what the longer history of the joke was. He decided it was his mission to find the headwaters of his comedic flow.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I did it through a process of pathology,\u201d he says, \u201cand then I did it through a process of taking the joke to therapy, and then I transmuted the joke through classical or through contemporary and Victorian gay literature, and then I traced it back to classical antiquity.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Hitchins\u2019 memoir A Brief History of Oversharing<\/i> is anything to go by, the comedy will be bawdy and full-throated. While the show is his baby, he is quick to point out that it takes a village, and other artists have been eager to get involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people are going, \u2018Are we watching him spin out again?\u2019\u201d says Hitchins, \u201cBut you know, what\u2019s been lovely is to build community around the work while I\u2019ve been meeting other artists here. And there\u2019s just this fun thing that\u2019s happening to the show that hasn\u2019t really happened before, which is [that] usually you hustle, and you push, and you try to convince people to get on board, and it\u2019s just an approach that\u2026 I\u2019ve been able to leave behind with this show.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as what the joke in question is, Hitchins won\u2019t say until showtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe joke is heavily guarded,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s everything you need to be a practicing homosexual, mentally, sexually, physically, spiritually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ribald
\n<\/i><\/i>7:30 pm Friday, September 25
\n7:30 pm Saturday, September 26
\n$20-$25, Intrepid Theatre
\nintrepidtheatre.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comedian Shawn Hitchins has had quite the decade. Finding success early in his career and even sparking a movement (Ginger Pride Walk) in Edinburgh, it would be understandable to feel like the universe (or whoever is in charge of it) is smiling down on him. Unfortunately for Hitchins, life is a big fan of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[360,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-september-23-2026","category-arts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t