With Globus Theatre having just wrapped up its murder mystery dinner theatre show Murder at the Blue Moon Saloon, the professional theatre company in Bobcaygeon is wasting no time in presenting the fifth show of its 22nd season: the Canadian premiere of the U.K. comedy play The Comeback, which runs for 11 performances from July 30 to August 9.
Written by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen, a U.K. comedy writing and acting duo known as The Pin, The Comeback began as a 55-minute Edinburgh fringe show in 2018 and premiered at the Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End in December 2020 during the pandemic.
In The Comeback, characters Alex and Ben are two young comics booked as the warm-up act for the fading veteran vaudeville act Jimmy and Sid, with the two now elderly comics touring the country hoping to make a comeback.
When both acts perform to a sparse crowd in a sleepy town, Alex and Ben have a crisis of confidence about their performance and decide to resurrect some older material. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Sid are tired of their old sketches and decide to try some new material.
When the four comedians discover a famous Hollywood director is sitting in the audience, both acts realize its their chance for their big break or a comeback and the performance descends into a desperate battle for the limelight.
Ashenden and Owen — who are also co-writers of the 2025 British action comedy film Deep Cover that was released on Amazon Prime Video in June — performed as both Alex and Ben and Jimmy and Sid in the original production, where each performance also featured an appearance from a special guest star, including Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman.
Filled with mistaken identity, prop comedy, pratfalls, and farcical mayhem, The Comeback is described as a heart-warming exploration of bittersweet nostalgia and the enduring power of friendship. Broadway World called it “an unmissable show full of heart and hysterical chaos that will leave you smiling for days.”
Globus Theatre’s production of The Comeback is its second Canadian premiere of a hit U.K. play, having opened the season with Desperate to be Doris in May.
“We love bringing Globus audiences new plays that have not yet been performed in Canada,” says Globus Theatre’s artistic producer James Barrett, who is directing the play. “The Comeback wowed crowds in London’s West End and we have two of the brightest new Canadian performers ready to do the same here. I’m excited for our audience to see this unique, high-energy, very, very funny play.”
The two Canadian performers who will be taking on the roles of Alex and Ben and Jimmy and Sid are Jack Copland and Calvin Rea.
Copland made his debut on the Globus stage as Jeff Kincaid in 2022’s Screwball Comedy by Norm Foster and, later that year, appeared as Buttons in Globus Theatre’s original British panto Cinderella. On screen, the graduate of George Brown Theatre School is known for his roles as Eugene Chambers in CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries and voicing Wayne on Teletoon’s Total Drama Island.
A Toronto-based actor, Calvin Rea is a graduate of the Toronto Metropolitan Theatre program. He has appeared on stage with Mixtape Productions and on screen in the web series Sweet Nothings. He made his debut on the Globus stage in Murder at the Blue Moon Saloon, which also featured Copland.
The Comeback opens on Wednesday (July 30) at 8 p.m. with evening performances continuing until Saturday, August 2, and then again after the long weekend from Tuesday, August 5 to Saturday, August 9. There are also 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday, August 2 and Thursday, August 7.
An optional dinner is available at 6 p.m. before the evening performances.
Tickets are $50 for the show only or $100 for dinner and the show (plus tax and fees) and be ordered online at https://www.globustheatre.com/shows-all/the-comeback or by calling the box office at 705-738-2037 (toll free at 1-800-304-7897).
