Canada鈥檚 duct-tape loving handyman may be ripe, but he鈥檚 not ready to retire.
The thought of Red Green sitting by a beach sipping a mojito in his trademark plaid shirt is unimaginable to the man who created him.
It鈥檚 been around 40 years since the character of Red Green was first dreamt up by iconic Canadian comedian Steve Smith, and 10 years since The Red Green Show signed off the air. However, both Smith, now 70, and his alter ego are still robust and brimming with new ideas.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Red should have reason to retire. He chooses to be happy and live life,鈥� said Smith, who is back on the road this fall with Red Green鈥檚 third live stage show, I鈥檓 Not Old, I鈥檓 Ripe, which arrives in Vernon Sept. 20 and 琉璃神社 Sept. 21.
鈥淚 really enjoy this way more than anything I鈥檝e done as a job. I have the kind of mind that keeps thinking this stuff up and I鈥檓 not done generating thoughts. I think people still want to hear my new stuff, but if a tour bombs, then I just won鈥檛 do it anymore.鈥�
I鈥檓 Not Old, I鈥檓 Ripe follows Red Green鈥檚 How To Do Everything from The Man who Should Know tour, which came to the Okanagan in Sept., 2013.
With this new show, Smith says Red Green has matured, but only slightly, as he reflects on the twists and turns of his life, the insights and wisdom he鈥檚 gained, along with the people he鈥檚 met along the way.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 doing a new comedy show, my thought, in the broad sense, is what is he thinking about now. You have to be in the present. It鈥檚 daunting as you鈥檙e not going to reap the rewards if you go back in the past. It鈥檚 not like a musician who has to play their hits over and over. I couldn鈥檛 do it,鈥� said Smith.
Audiences have shown no indication they want the duct tape to cover Red Green鈥檚 mouth. In fact, Red鈥檚 mind is so sharp, he鈥檚 even thought of a way to store green power, said Smith.
鈥淏atteries are just as bad for the environment as coal, so why not turn energy into water using a reverse turbine that pumps water up a mountain? That鈥檚 how his mind works, even if his ideas have been done before.鈥�
That鈥檚 perhaps why Red Green attracts fans of all ages.
Some of the handyman鈥檚 fans were not even born when the Smith and Smith comedy show, where Red Green first made an appearance in 1978, was on the air. Others have had to rely on YouTube to see repeats of The Red Green Show, which appeared on TV for 15 seasons, ending in 2006.
鈥淚 see a lot of young people out there,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淭he average age of my audience is going down... At a meet and greet, I had a guy come up to me, who was 21, and say 鈥榶ou make me look forward to growing old.鈥欌��
And although Red Green is undeniably Canadian, American audiences have also connected to the man in plaid.
Smith first toured I鈥檓 Not Old, I鈥檓 Ripe to 25 cities in the U.S., from the east to the midwest, in the spring.
鈥淗onestly, what the Americans don鈥檛 get in the idiosyncrasies, they make up for in enthusiasm. They don鈥檛 hold back and have a high opinion of their own opinion, which I am not knocking,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淐anadians are just much more polite, but you never know what they are really thinking.鈥�
For now, Smith and Red Green are content to keep doing what they have been doing for the past four decades, making people laugh.
鈥淚 have a filter that helps me know to keep doing this: 1/ They still know who Red Green is. 2/ They gotta buy a ticket to see me... For this show, I think people will walk away smiling and if you are not aware of Red Green, then you probably shouldn鈥檛 go.鈥�
Tickets for Red Green鈥檚 I鈥檓 Not Old, I鈥檓 Ripe at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., are available at the Ticket Seller box office. Call 250-549-7469 or order at www.ticketseller.ca.
The Sept. 21 show at the 琉璃神社 Community Theatre starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are at the Select Your Tickets office at Prospera Place or call 250-762-5050 or order online at www.selectyourtickets.com
