Comedy Now!: Sean Cullen - Wood, Cheese & Children

Sean Cullen steps out on his own after a decade fronting the musical trio Corky and the Juice Pigs, bringing a frantic mix of musical ad-libs and strange character work. He plays the room with the unhinged energy of someone fueled by jet lag, casually dropping a Stephen Hawking impression set to the tune of Neil Diamond.

Backed by guitarist Dylan Goodhue, Cullen leans heavily on his operatic baritone. The hour mixes improvised songs based on audience suggestions with weird, fully formed setpieces, including a country-western ballad about a love triangle involving conjoined twins. Later, he slips into character as Father Sean to deliver pseudo-biblical readings from the apocryphal gospel of Saint Justin, reassuring his flock that if there is room for laughter, there is room for Jesus.

Filmed in 1998 for CTV’s Comedy Now! series, Wood, Cheese & Children was the solo debut that proved Cullen didn’t need a band to hold a room. The live iteration of the show toured to the Montreal Comedy Festival and the HBO Workspace in Los Angeles, picking up a Perrier Award nomination at the Edinburgh Fringe and a Gemini Award nod in Canada.