REVIEW: Islandography is a ‘hilarious, homesick journey’
Hamilton-based comedian Justin Shaw has written a heartwarming love letter to his PEI home. Check it out at The Staircase this weekend.
The list of shows Hamilton audiences have enjoyed from Justin Shaw grows ever longer with Islandography at The Staircase on Sept. 6. Others have included The 70 Mile Yard Sale, A Creature is Stirring, Nook & Cranny: Twin Detectives, and Rebel Spirits. This season’s Blyth Festival program calls Shaw’s show “a hilarious, homesick journey.” Shaw is a comedian and storyteller originally from Prince Edward Island who has a brilliant stage presence, say recent audience members, and a talent for fusing the hilarious and heartwarming in his true tales.
“Weaving tales of his madcap misadventures across Canada, Islandography is a one hour fish-out-of-water comedy filled with big laughs and big feelings from Canada’s smallest province,” reads Shaw’s promotional material. “If you’ve ever had to leave home, this is the show for you. Don’t miss the down-home hilarity that is Justin Shaw’s Islandography.”
It may have been a bit cheeky to start off my questions about Shaw’s solo show with one about his duo work. However, we’re still only weeks beyond this summer’s Hamilton Fringe where he and collaborator Devin Bateson nabbed the Best in Venue award (Theatre Aquarius Studio) for their popular show, Rebel Spirits.
“It was a delightful sweaty mess. When Devin and I work together I think we push each other to our extremities,” Shaw says. “It makes going back to our individual solo projects feel renewed and filled with a fresh perspective and deeper understanding of ourselves. And for Rebel Spirits, I think audiences bought into the ‘you have to see it with your own eyes’ chaotic aura that seems to follow our work.” For now, we’ll have to wait for the next time Shaw and Bateson’s tour schedules synchronize, as they are both now focused on their solo shows, but Shaw reassures us that “you haven’t seen the last of us as a duo.”
Meanwhile, Shaw is presenting Islandography for one night only at The Staircase in the midst of a very busy summer and fall for the actor/comedian. After the performance, he is off to Vancouver Fringe and then on to Yukon Fringe with the show.
“I’ve been working the show in a two-act full length form at Blyth Festival Theatre as part of their 2026 Season, but for Fringe I’ll be sharing a condensed version, so I’ll need some time to review how I want to adjust the show to fit in a suitcase,” Shaw explains. “The Staircase has been excellent to me since I moved to Hamilton and I am grateful for their support, patience, and enthusiasm.”
Islandography and the longer, expanded show, Off-Island Odyssey, evolved from an earlier Shaw show titled Have Jokes, Will Travel.
“Have Jokes, Will Travel is a name I came up with under the wire of a deadline. The show had a name before a draft which isn’t, in my experience, best practice. But when you have a deadline you need something for the marquee, I suppose. It became Islandography following its first run, but Blyth humbly requested a title that wasn’t a made-up word. Fair enough. So Off-Island Odyssey is just the name of the two-act version I came up with just for Blyth. Key difference is an intermission and more references to Matt Damon,” Shaw says.
Throughout August, Shaw performed Off-Island Odyssey at the Blyth Festival, his second time performing there. His debut run last year sold out, and this new, expanded version of the show was co-commissioned by the Blyth Festival Theatre and The Charlottetown Festival. Shaw calls his experience with the Blyth, in a word: “Fantastic.”
“They’re a dream to work with. Their production team and admin staff have treated me like a prince since I arrived,” he says. “They believed in the show even on days when I didn’t. They’re champions of Canadian storytelling.”
Asked what he most enjoys about the solo show or storytelling experience, Shaw says, “I enjoy the agency of the work. I can challenge myself daily to refine and edit my thoughts and ideas. Over the last decade I’ve gotten better at writing for my own voice, so I know myself better as an artist with each passing project.”
What’s most challenging? “The biggest challenge is the actual out-loud practices. I work with a very gracious ‘inner circle’ of a few artists with whom I share ugly drafts in a private progress showing,” he says. “Those reps are vital, and I’m very grateful for the folks willing to set foot on the ground floor of a work-in-progress.”
And as for what Shaw most wants audience members to take away from Islandography, he says, “I hope audiences reflect on what parts of home have stayed with them even after leaving.”
In his Playwright’s Notes for the Blyth Festival, Shaw elaborates on this a little more. “The story is a love letter to my home. My hope for the audience is that if my story makes them think of someone who makes them feel brave enough to rise and face ever-growing challenges of the day, I hope they can tell them. (Or at the very least write and perform your own non-fiction one person comedic solo show).”
NEED TO KNOW
Sunday, Sept. 6, 2 p.m.
Doors: 1 p.m.
The Staircase
27 Dundurn St. N., Hamilton
Tickets: $20
More information: @justinshawmedy, justinshawmedy.com
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Red Beti Theatre presents two shows….
Nokomis
Sept. 3, 4, 5, & 6
Arrival: 6:30 p.m., performance: 7 p.m.
Carter Park, 32 Stinson St., Hamilton
PWYC tickets
From the Decolonise Your Ears festival, “Nokomis the play tells an unforgettable story about the pain and the joy of reclamation.” Written by Danielle Boissoneau and directed by Nada Abusaleh, the theatre company says this will be “an interactive excerpt from Nbwaachaadaa Nokomis. Here on the land we will recreate spaces for agency, healing and solidarity through embodied imagination and remembering who we all are and who we have the capacity to be.”
Red Beti Theatre cautions that performances are weather permitting, and to keep an eye on social media for updates (@redbetitheatre). They recommend bringing “a blanket or a chair, and bug repellent of your choice!”
Brick Lane Bargain
Sept. 12, 4 p.m.
Theatre Aquarius Studio, 190 King William St.
Workshop presentation: limited tickets available
More information
RSVP boxoffice@redbetitheatre.org with $10 suggested donation.
Duration: 2 hrs
Brick Lane Bargain is described as “a feminist retelling of Radha and Krishna’s cosmic love,” written by Radha S. Menon and directed by Makambe K. Simamba. This workshop presentation is funded by the Ontario Arts Council as well as supported by the City of Hamilton and Province of Ontario.
