Comedian Peter White has earned his funny spots performing at impressive gigs across the international circuit – and now he’s on his way to Malta. Here he chats to Jo Caruana about career choices, raising eyebrows and performing in… living rooms.

Sometimes funny people can be found in the most unusual places. Take Canadian comic Peter White for instance, who will be performing at the Eden Comedy’s sixth Comedy Stand Up Night. He got into the industry about eight years ago, while studying to become an electrical engineer.

I was 99 per cent sure she was about to murder me and wear my skin for pyjamas

“I was doing an internship in Calgary,” he says, “when I discovered I absolutely hated engineering. I couldn’t even tolerate thinking about it. So, after months of soul searching (and some drinking) I found myself at a comedy open mic night.”

The experience, he remembers, was awful, “absolutely terrible”. For some reason, White had always believed he could do comedy. When watching others perform, all he could think was that it would be physically impossible for him to be as bad as them, so he decided to give it a try.

“I signed up for the night before I left town, so that if I was disastrous I could just move away and no one would ever know I had tried. Instead, it was a lot of fun and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Things moved pretty quickly after that and White’s first proper gig came about four months later when a local company asked him to perform at their Christmas party.

“It was the first time I ever got paid, so I put on the only suit I owned and went along to the hotel. I was really confident because the client had seen me and liked me already, so I assumed everyone else at the company would like me too. I was wrong. I bombed. But I still got paid, and that felt pretty darn good. And things have gotten better since then.”

In fact, White has worked across his home country, clearly appealing to the Canadian audience psyche.

“I’ve spent almost my whole career there, and have toured every inch of it so I know how to make them laugh,” he says.

“But to be honest, the more of the world I see, the more I realise that most humour is universal. I try really hard to make sure that whatever I write is accessible to people everywhere. It doesn’t always work, but for the most part, people are the same all over.”

There have been numerous career highlights for the funny man, including being nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada Award within his first year of writing, and filming an hour-long special for Canadian TV. “That was filmed in Toronto in front of a big theatre audience, and it went brilliantly,” he remembers.

“On the other hand, I once had to do a show for 20 people in a ladies’ living room, for her small business. She didn’t tell anyone there was going to be a comedian and the horror of it is all coming flooding back to me. When I showed up at the house, it was completely dark. I called the woman and she assured me I was at the right place.

“I went in and it was just her. I was 99 per cent sure she was about to murder me and wear my skin for pyjamas, but the rest of the people got bussed in so that I could ruin their night. There was no mic, and no one wanted a comedian there. It definitely stands out as being the worst thing that has ever happened to me.”

Thankfully, though, White hasn’t let past down days get to him, and he is already looking forward to his upcoming gig on Maltese soil.

“Everyone tells me just how absolutely beautiful Malta is, so I’m really excited to just get there and take it all in. Every picture I’ve seen has looked so unbelievably stunning that I’m convinced it has to be fake. Is it fake?

“As for what people will make of me, well, I’ve seen me and I’m hilarious,” he quips.

“Seriously? Well, real life inspires my set and that is a hilarious place to start. I try to draw from experience, which keeps things interesting. Every time something unusual happens I write about it and bring it into the set. It keeps things fresh for me, which translates into something for audiences to get excited about.”

Meanwhile, White is known for his good, clean comedy, which may please those put off by more crude comics. He says he doubts he will be raising any eyebrows with his particular brand of humour.

“I guess there might be a few things, but nothing shocking. All I try to do is be honest and sometimes that surprises people, but always in a completely relatable way. So any eyebrows raised will be because people agree with what I’m saying, often about things they would never have the guts to say themselves. Whatever happens we’re going to have a lot of really good fun.”

The Eden Comedy Club is being held on Friday. Tickets are available online or from the Eden Box Office, St Julian’s.

www.edencinemas.com.mt