When “Laugh Without Limits” comes to the stage at The Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough on Saturday, April 25, it will not only be a hilarious evening of stand-up comedy, but a reminder of what can happen when performance venues are accessible to everyone.

That’s one goal of Disability Privilege Productions, founded by Toronto comedian Jared Nathan, who created Laughs Without Limits with Blair “TheHandy” Williams as an inclusive comedy show featuring comedians whose lives are influenced by disability.

“It’s about giving opportunities to people with challenges and disabilities who are not usually able to get opportunities,” says Jared, who adds the company name refers to the situations where he is favoured because he lives with disability.

Blair was driven to partner with Jared because of the lack of accessibility he found when it comes to comedy. In Toronto, he says, only two comedy clubs are accessible to him as a wheelchair user.

“I love doing comedy, but the opportunities for me to do it aren’t there,” Blair says. “Greater than that, the opportunity for individuals that use mobility devices to come and just watch comedy aren’t there. Jared and I got together and we thought, ‘Hey, let’s start this production company and we’ll have a monthly show where people that use mobility devices can come to a barrier-free environment and enjoy comedy.'”

They did that through the development of Laugh Without Limits, where professional comedians with disabilities are given paid work, and inclusive “ICU Open Mic” nights, where newcomer comedians can take the stage.

VIDEO: “Laugh Without Limits” promo (2025)

“We want people leaving saying ‘That was one of the funniest shows I’ve seen’, not that it was nice for a disability show,” says Blair. “The comics we have on our show are very strong, very funny people. It’s just a completely different outlook on life.”

Now Laugh Without Limits is coming to Peterborough, hosted in the intimate The Theatre on King by Blair and with Jared as the headliner.

Jared gained a following by winning the Golden Ticket on “Kill Tony,” a popular American live podcast hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe and Brian Redban who invite comedians to do clips of stand-up comedy.

“Kill Tony is the number one live podcast on the planet right now and Tony is a very big supporter of comedians with disabilities,” says Blair. “This genre of comedy with the disability community is probably the largest and fastest growing niche, I would say, out there right now.”

Jared will headline with his unique and bold humour and a routine that promises to not only be hilarious but full of thought-provoking insights.

“I like to take people on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs,” Jared explains. “I like to get people thinking and just show people that I’m more than my stutter by using my stutter to take people on a ride.”

As the host of the Peterborough show, Blair will get the audience comfortable and warmed up with his dark humour. Also in the line-up along with Jared will be rising star Tia Percy along with Todd Blenkhorn, who joins Jared and Blair on their “Wheel Stutter Blindly” podcast.

While Blair and Jared suggest Laughs Without Limits is not “disability comedy” — in that there will be topics and observations beyond disability — there will be some poking fun at themselves and others.

This includes stories of the many “interesting experiences” they’ve had because of the way so-called “able-bodied” people interact or approach them.

“We want you to laugh,” Jared says. “We want you to laugh because, even able-bodied, you still might have some challenges or some difficulties in your life that you can relate to. Everyone can relate to struggle, and I think laughing at your situations is a lot better than crying.”

For Blair, comedy has always been a part of his life, even after the injury that caused his quadriplegia.

Just 24 hours after that injury, he was laughing with his family — joking that he’d always be wearing new shoes and that finding parking will always be a breeze — when a nurse asked why he was laughing.

She asked if he thought it was funny that he was going to be “nothing” for the rest of his life.

“I wish I knew where that lady was now,” Blair says. “I’d like to thank her because, with those words, she put gas in my tank.”

“I don’t know if it’s a little bit of fear mixed into it, but I’m not going to be a nothing — I’m going to do something,” Blair says. “I’m going to advocate. I want to make people laugh. I want to have a fun time. I want to enjoy every minute of this amazing life surrounded by people who are like-minded and just want to have fun and want to laugh and want to find the beauty in the tragedy of life.”

In Blair’s belief, “humour will cure everything and anything.”

“There’s especially humour in the taboo, and humour in the things you don’t think you’ll laugh about,” Jared adds. “Humour is just tragedy plus time. There’s humour in everything.”

Layered beneath the jokes, however, the comedians hope to raise awareness for the need for more accessible performance venues across the country.

“Everybody should be able to access entertainment everywhere,” Jared points out. “People should not be limited to anything because of their ability or mobility or anything. That’s the importance of our mission with Laugh Without Limits — to give opportunities for people who can’t go to normal comedy clubs to come see our shows.”

“We want people to come for the laughs, but leave with a bit of a wider perspective,” adds Blair.

Sponsored by Team vanRahan Century 21 to ensure all proceeds go to the show’s performers, Laugh Without Limits will be presented at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at The Theatre on King at 171 King Street in downtown Peterborough.

Tickets are priced at $20 (plus fees) in advance at www.eventbrite.ca/1984392315835 or $25 at the door. The Theatre on King provides venue accessibility and parking information on its venue accessibility page at ttok.ca/venue-accessibility.

For more information about Disability Privilege Productions including other upcoming shows, visit www.disabilityprivilegeproductions.com.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be the media sponsor of the April 25 “Laugh Without Limits” show at The Theatre on King.

It’ll be a love fest both on and off stage when New Stages Theatre gathers a troupe of local talent to perform in Paul and Linda Plan a Threesome.

Kerry Griffin, Megan Murphy, Kate Suhr, and Linda Kash will all be joining a staged reading of the hilarious and heartfelt comedy written by Jane Cooper Ford, which had its world premiere with a sold-out, held-over run in 2024 by Stratford’s Here for Now Theatre.

Directed by New Stages artistic director Mark Wallace, the staged reading runs for two performance on Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.

In its catchy title, the play’s premise is laid out for audiences: a successful and serious middle-aged couple, Paul and Linda (played by Griffin and Murphy) have hit a rut in their marriage and decide to spice it up by planning a threesome — much in the way one might plan a dinner party. But, beneath the innuendos, there’s a story that celebrates love in all its shapes and forms.

“I don’t think either of them are quite ready for it and everything it entails,” says Griffin of the proposed ménage à trois. “It’s about that journey of discovering everything that comes to the surface and realizing some things about themselves. I think the threesome is just a vessel for the self-discovery that entails for all of them.”

Murphy agrees, noting the title gets audiences in the seats, but it’s the relatability of the characters that will keep them engaged. When reading the script the first time, she was drawn to how her titular character has to ask herself who she is and what she really wants.

“They are such an overachieving couple that have been very successful in the world and their careers, and outwardly it would look like they have everything together,” Murphy says. “But you’ve been building your resume for cocktail parties and then you have a moment where you go, ‘What is my resume on the inside?'”

“There is that true heart of these two people really trying to say, ‘How are we going to save this thing that’s important to us and not abandon ourselves?'” Murphy adds. “She (Linda) thinks initially she can do it with a clipboard and a list of things — that if she gets this and that right, and if the cushions are done exactly right, this will all go according to plan. Well, nothing goes according to plan, and I think that’s great.”

Griffin and Murphy both say it’s these heartfelt and relatable moments throughout the show that make the suggestive jokes and mishaps even more impactful.

“If everything’s total comedy, then it’s not as funny,” Griffin points out. “You need some real honest and dramatic moments to make the comedy even more funny because then it’s more unexpected and it’s more of a contrast. We’ve got to find that emotional or human truth that everyone can relate to, and that’s when the comedy is even stronger.”

In reflecting on her character’s internalized question “What do I want?”, Murphy knows how she would answer the question.

“I want to just really connect with people, so for me to be able to answer Linda’s question and to go on that journey in the play, and to do it in a way that is playful and a bit whimsical and joyful and a bit risqué, is fun for me,” she says. “I want to make good, fun art with people I love for people I love, and so it’s a no-brainer for me to do this play.”

Speaking of people she loves, Murphy is also joined on stage by Suhr playing the role of Sienna, who the couple finds online to help them realize their goal, and Kash playing the role of Paul’s sister Gwen, who throws a wrench in the threesome plan.

All four actors are New Stages veterans, with Murphy and Griffin having worked together most recently for the theatre company’s holiday staged reading of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play last December.

“He (Griffin) is one of the best performers I’ve ever worked with and one of the best improvisers I’ve ever worked with, because he’s so present and he’s so smart and he’s so quick and calm,” Murphy says. “As a performer, you always feel safe with him. I always feel safe with Linda (Kash) when we improvise too, so I know no matter what, we’re going to be okay.”

According to Griffin, Wallace took advantage of the improv skills of the actors for the comedic elements of the play.

“My background for theatre was originally through Second City and Second City is obviously almost 100 per cent improv-based, where we’re creating stuff purely through improv,” Griffin says, “Mark brings a lot of that, even through a scripted work, where he wants us to play and improvise through things and discover. I love that aspect of his sense and willingness to explore and try stuff.”

“His vision for New Stages and where he is taking the company, and the growth and the life that’s been infused into it over the last few years, is really wonderful for Peterborough and for the group of artists that are living here as well,” adds Murphy.

Despite the play’s suggestive title, Murphy and Griffin assure there will be nothing more risqué than suggestive language and perhaps a kiss on stage. That said, there is a content advisory for strong and explicit language and mature themes and the show is recommended for audience members 16 years of age and older.

With everything going on in the world right now, Murphy says “We are in a time where people want to be in communion with each other” and suggests Paul and Linda Plan a Threesome is a great way to do that.

“It’ll be a nice way to sit with neighbours, laugh your head off, and think a little bit about your own life.”

Rounding out the creative time are stage manager Shannon McKenzie LeBlanc, costume and set designer Jen Naus, and intimacy coordinator Greg Carruthers. The show is presented by the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough.

With all fees included, tickets for Paul and Linda Plan a Threesome cost $34, with a $24 “welcome rate” for those who need it and a $44 “pay it forward” rate for those who can afford to help cover the cost of the welcome rate.

Tickets can be purchased at the Market Hall box office at 140 Charlotte Street, by calling 705-749-1146, or online at tickets.markethall.org.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be media sponsor of New Stages Theatre Company’s 2025-26 season.