PREVIEW: Comedy with a heart coming to The Staircase
Jack Goes to Therapy: A (Somewhat) Romantic Comedy is a one-man play by Caledonia native and McMaster University graduate Zac Williams.
The Staircase Theatre in Hamilton marks a stop of Zac Williams' 2025 Canadian tour with his comedic one-man show Jack Goes to Therapy: A (Somewhat) Romantic Comedy. It’s the story of a broken-hearted kindergarten teacher in therapy after his boyfriend leaves him for the man with whom they had a threesome. A “hopeless romantic,” Jack starts dating again, only to spiral out of control.
Jack Goes to Therapy is Williams’ second one-man show, which premiered at Vancouver Fringe in 2023 and was then performed at Edinburgh Fringe in 2024. It had a further short run in January at Bread and Roses Theatre, a small pub theatre in south London, U.K. Called semi-autobiographical, the show “addresses mens’ mental health, loneliness, homophobia, and toxic masculinity in a way that is brutally honest and simultaneously hilarious,” says his press release.
“I like to pull the humour from real life and then build a fictional world around that,” says Williams.
Having been already reviewed by a wide range of media, Jack Goes to Therapy is an easy choice for Hamilton theatre lovers. From outlets such as The Ubyssey to The Scotsman to Lost in Theatreland, the show has garnered four- and five-star reviews across three countries over the last two years.
London’s review and recommendations site The Recs called the show “a delight,” while Gay Times dubbed it “a tale told with charm, warmth and good humour” and “genuinely very funny.” “Heartfelt and hilarious,” said West End Best Friend. After the short run at The Staircase this weekend, Williams will next be performing Jack Goes to Therapy at the Toronto Fringe from July 2 to 13, followed by the Winnipeg Fringe from July 16 to 27.
“I'm excited to be bringing this show to Hamilton in particular because it feels like I'm bringing it home in many ways,” Williams says. “Firstly, I'm a McMaster graduate of both the Arts & Science program and the Theatre & Film Studies program. My first experience at a Fringe Festival was performing in (a) play at the 2015 Hamilton Fringe … (that) my friends wrote called Tasteless. So it's full circle to be back in Hamilton!”
“Secondly, I grew up in Caledonia, just outside of Hamilton. I've just moved back to Caledonia after six years of living in Vancouver and a year living in the U.K.,” he says. So, for ticket buyers this weekend, there is the ability to witness a playwright performing to an especially supportive audience.
“My friends and family have been watching my journey producing this show in Vancouver, and Edinburgh, and London over the past two years. But they've only seen social media posts or read reviews,” Williams explains. “Most have never had the chance to see the show.”
Williams’ first one-man performance piece was Blockhead, a monologue initially 15 minutes in length, first developed during his master’s in acting program at the University of Essex. It premiered at the 2018 Hamilton Fringe. Williams says it was a parody dealing with “millennial anxiety about the future through the eyes of the perpetual worry-wort, Charlie Brown.” An extended version of Blockhead was later performed at the 2022 Vancouver Fringe.
Williams says Jack Goes to Therapy is quite distinct from Blockhead in that the older show was more in the vein of a short stand-up routine, where the current show is an hour-long, more theatrical in nature, and features 11 characters including Jack.
“I started writing Jack Goes to Therapy after my own experience of a heartbreak and signing up for therapy for the first time. The show kind of was a way for me to find the humour in life, even with a broken heart,” he says. “And I had so much fun writing it, that it became a healing tool in many ways. The show has an optimistic outlook, because I think I needed an optimistic outlook for myself at the time.”
As the show moved from Vancouver to Edinburgh to London, the script remained unchanged despite the temptation to make some small changes. “I decided to keep it as is. The story is one of heartbreak and I wrote it in the midst of heartbreak,” says Williams. “Eleven months passed between Vancouver Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe, and making changes to the script now that I was on the other side of the heartbreak seemed to be tampering with the honesty of the original story.”
While there are serious and emotional moments, Jack Goes to Therapy is punctuated by funny vignettes such as Jack “asking his STI-testing nurse for dating advice, (and) his straight roommate walking in on him in the shower.” Williams says that he “loves comedy and I don't think I'll ever write something that isn't a comedy in some sense.”
Williams says that with repetition, he felt “more grounded” and confident in the show. Having now performed Jack Goes to Therapy more than 30 times and having received ample positive response from audiences, he is able to settle in and “just enjoy performing it.”
After performing Blockhead at the 2018 Hamilton Fringe, Williams attended teachers college and since then, teaching has become key to both supporting himself and pursuing his passion for writing and performance. “I originally qualified to teach secondary school but I ended up teaching almost exclusively in elementary schools, and I haven't looked back since,” he says. “Over the years I've been a supply teacher, a primary gym teacher, a grade 4/5 classroom teacher, and grade 6/7 classroom teacher.”
He got a teaching assignment overseas in August after his Edinburgh Fringe run. In the meantime, Williams “dove into the world of theatre in London,” seeing dozens of shows in a variety of venues. “I took every show as a learning opportunity to consider: what sort of writing really captures my attention, what sort of stories really stay with me, what performers mesmerize me?”
Williams is currently working on “another one-man play that I started writing last summer. It's the story of an inner-city teacher. I like to base my stories off aspects of my lived experience, and last year I taught grade 6/7 at an inner-city school. It was a profound experience in many ways. But also one so filled with humour.”
Make sure not to miss The Staircase engagement before Jack Goes to Therapy moves toward the end of its performance timeline. “I think I'll be done with performing it after Winnipeg. It's been two years since I started writing the show, and a year and half since I first performed it in Vancouver. I still love performing it, but I'm excited to start producing my next one-man play,” Williams says.
“I am hopeful that if I bring a future show to Fringe festivals in 2026, then I'll have some people who really enjoyed Jack Goes to Therapy in 2025 and are excited to see what I do next,” Williams says.
As for what Williams hopes Hamilton audience members take away from Jack Goes to Therapy, beyond entertainment and a good laugh, he mentions the emotional responses prior audiences have had. “People are often shocked by how moved they are by the story. They joke, ‘You told me it was a comedy! Why was I crying at the end?’” he says.
“And it really is a comedy, but it's got a lot of heart, and a message about the importance of love and kindness. It is a story of resiliency; of finding support and community in a time of need.”
NEED TO KNOW
Jack Goes to Therapy: A (Somewhat) Romantic Comedy
May 2 & 3, 7:30 p.m.
May 4, 1:30 p.m.
The Staircase Theatre
27 Dundurn St. N., Hamilton
Tickets are here
