Comic Ali Hassan talks family, gratitude & not fretting about missing pickles

There’s a growth about Ali Hassan’s comedy that is an amalgam of his 17 years in the stand-up business coupled with movie acting, radio work and writing … and a lot of observation within his expanding family.

Hassan is among a chuckling cackle of top Canadian comics including Kelly Taylor, Tim Nutt, Amanda Rose, Kate Belton, Mike Wilmot, and many others, who’ll entertain local crowds this week for the Okanagan Comedy Festival.

The event was rescheduled following the wildfire enforced postponement in August.

Hassan, who hails from New Brunswick and made his mark on the Toronto scene, spoke with Kelowna10 via Zoom from the set of his latest TV appearance. He's portraying an older man; hence the prosthetics under his eyes and grey dye in his facial hair.

He didn't want viewers of this story to think he's let himself go! Check out the video.

“There was some pretty dirty stuff,” Hassan explained when talking about his early days in Montreal’s Italian banquet halls and Greek diners.

But then he got married, and inherited two young stepdaughters. His new five and three-year-old wanted to look him up online. And then having another two daughters of his own, promoted changes to his act.

“There is stuff that I have said to groups of Greek men that my young daughters should definitely not be hearing,” he explained.

“[So], just organically, I started talking about my family. It felt honest. It felt like my new children were writing material for me,” he said. “With four kids in the house the material is constantly there. There’s so much that is funny directly around me, connected to my life, so much comedy I can mine, that it became the obvious direction to move into.”

Hassan has a food background – he initially wanted to be a TV chef – and has starred in film and TV, so he brings multiple perspectives to his craft.

Gratitude over ‘punching down’

“Over time, I really veered towards the personal and talking about stories and my own personal experiences,” he said, noting if someone in an audience takes offence, he can always defend that with, ‘well that was my experience, that’s what I saw. So go suck an egg.’

He’s quick to point out he doesn’t really tell critics to suck eggs but those food references are never far away in his schtick.

Asked, given the horrific events going on in the world, if audiences should give themselves permission to laugh, Hassan said there’s a dire need for comedy. But he’s eager to explain he does not ‘punch down’ as part of his act, meaning he does not make fun of tragic realities, whether that’s what’s going in the Middle East or the wildfires in Kelowna that destroyed people’s homes.

“That’s a personal thing; some comics want to push the edge. I approach comedy as a time for us all to get together and celebrate,” he said. “I’m not a guy who needs to exclude people and mock others, especially when they’re as low as they can be.

“Just practising some gratitude, because as you say, there are such horrific things happening right now you feel grateful for what you do have, rather than being like, ‘man, I can’t believe there’s no pickles on my burger even though I ordered pickles in my burger.’ You know, screw your pickles, it’s really not that important.”

Festival line up

The Okanagan Comedy Festival runs across multiple venues with many different performers from Wed., Oct. 25, through Sun., Oct.29.

The Rotary Centre for the Arts will host the CBC Radio recording of Laugh Out Loud Friday night.

Other venues include: Carlos O’Bryan’s in West Kelowna, BNA Brewing, Highway97 Brewing, DunnEnzies Mission, and Railside Brewing.

Event organizer Robert Gallant said the beauty about the five-day run is that audiences will get to see 20 to 30 minute sets from some of the best in the country.

“One of the things with a festival is that you do get spoiled. It’s not like going to a regular comedy club,” Gallant said. “This headline comedy, so you’re getting some of the best of the best.”

For the full schedule and ticketing click here.