Steel a few laughs: February 1, 1995

By Guy Leshinski

Call it comedy that refuses to abide by conventional rules of etiquette, both comforting in its charm and shocking in its audacity.

Bubbling forth from the depths of public access television, Hamilton’s Steel City Lingerie is poised to take the world of live music sketch-comedy by the balls and start swinging. The seven-man, two-woman line-up recently gave fans and media a preview of their upcoming live show Banned from Hamilton, Live in Toronto. It was an evening of gleaming silver-tongued retorts, and genuinely funny sight-gags.

“Our comedy is more cerebral,” says SCL actor/writer Cameron Hoffman. “We like to keep the crowd on their toes; keep them thinking.”

The troupe, which formed just over two years ago, has a history of appearances on Hamilton’s cable television airwaves and a well-developed stage routine. What they offer is a blend of Monty-Python inspired wordplay and physical comedy of the Looney Tunes variety. The resulting menage will have the audience in fits of laughter.

Kirk Johnson is the group’s director of marketing, as well as a contributing actor/writer. He feels SCL is ready to hit the big-time. “Things are going really well for us right now. We’re getting more exposure…(and) in February or March we’ll be making our big pitch for a TV deal. But we love playing live, for a crowd,” he laughs, “We’ll play any way people will see us!”

Another performer juggling multiple group responsibilities is actor/writer/production manager Suzanne Muir. The 27-year-old also happens to be a student in Ryerson’s RTA program. “I relieve a lot of tension (doing the comedy),” she says.

“You really get a lot of energy doing it live. You feed off the crowd.”

Energy is certainly a major component of Steel City Lingerie. The effort is intense, as is the bite of some of the shots they take at more visible members of Canadian government. However, the combination of talents and influences are fresh. The show is guaranteed to provoke, entice ,excite and above all entertain. Who says all the funny Canadians live in L.A.?