Expect some old material and some new when checking out the Kids in the Hall reunion tour.
For the first time since 2008, the Kids in the Hall are touring. Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson make up the comedy troupe that has gained a loyal cult following since their offbeat sketch show aired in 1988. We had a chance to speak with Bruce McCulloch about their Rusty and Ready tour and the writing process.
The tour has a lot of new material, but is it true that we’ll also see a few favorite characters return?
We got together in Toronto in December and did all new material. From there we picked out our favorite pieces. But yes, there will be new things from characters that people know, so it’s a two-for. I think it’s a good mix of both new material and favorites.
How do you workshop the new material? You guys don’t all live in the same area.
We did, in this instance, get together to do what we did in the very beginning of our career. We’d meet for a few days and then put on a show. People bring material, we write over the phone a bit, too. It really speeds things up – or slows things down – when we’re all in a room together.
Now that you guys are a little older, what’s influencing your material?
We’re influenced by all the weird people that we meet in the world. We wrote a piece about foodie culture. That’s something we wouldn’t have written about ten or twenty years ago. And now we write less about breaking up with girlfriends.
Are you ever surprised by the waves of new, younger Kids in the Hall fans?
Yes and no. I always find strange old music to get into, but I wasn’t there the first time around. I think we connect with weird outsiders, of which there is a new generation born every day. I’m just more shocked that anyone comes to see us, actually. It’s amazing that we can go to cities and fill up a theater. I’m very touched that people are interested at all.
Follow Julia West on Twitter at @missjaywest.
