‘New show, new Joe’: Superstar comedian Joe Avati returns to Montreal

Internationally renowned comedian, Joe Avati is touring the world with five stops — and counting — in Montreal.

The king of Italian comedy is set to make audiences laugh in September at the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre in Saint Leonard.

“It’s a new show, new Joe,” said the Italian-Australian comedian. “Different attitude, brand new jokes.”

“Once I finish all these shows,” said Avati. “I will break the record for the most number of shows ever performed here at the Leonardo Da Vinci Center.”

Avati’s shows, suitable for the whole family — something he’s been doing for over 30 years now.

“I was impersonating lecturers and telling jokes to all my university friends,” he explained. “I was very shy as a child and so the only way that I could break through the ice was to tell jokes.”

That’s how his passion for comedy began.

“Then I went to the comedy story in Australia,” he said. “Then pursued telling jokes, and telling my own stories.”

Avati’s roots — being Australian born with an Italian heritage — continues to inspire his work.

“There’s a lot of Italian Australians in Australia, obviously there’s a million of us,” he explained. “We grew up with a very very strong community and so it was much easier for me to do a show about Italians because I had a big big audience.”

“As I found out, that audience is all over the world.”

RELATED: Italian-Australian comedian Joe Avati coming back to Montreal

Despite being the stellar Aussie comic that he is, Avati did not think comedy would have worked out for him.

“No,” he said. “That’s my secret is I always think that it’s going to end so I’ve got to make sure that I finish on a high.”

“I do a good show.”

“If they’ve ever come to a show before, then they should come and see the new show,” said Avati. “I tackle all sorts of issues like cancel culture, woke, and of course being Italian.”

For more on Avati’s tour, click here.