Having been described as ‘the king of Canadian comedy’, Derek Edwards is gearing up to introduce local audiences to his latest virtuoso performance.

The ‘My Blunderful Life Tour’ hits the Memorial Centre March 11.

Showtime is 8 p.m.

Edwards, 53, laughs as he describes the process of gearing up for the tour which covers much of the west.

“I live on anxiety,” he says during a chat from his Toronto home, adding he’s worn out a portion of the living room rug by crisscrossing back and forth over the past few months.

“It’s a trial and error thing every time I’m on the road.”

But Edwards, who wields an absolutely charming and accessible comedic style, clearly has no reason to fear.

Hailed as one of the funniest Canadians around, he’s been long endearing himself to a host of fans nationwide.

He explains that the joy of performing in Canada is that most of us don’t take ourselves too seriously – as individuals or as a country.

He also always tries to meld a local touch into his shows, and the best way to do that is chatting with folks in the hotel he happens to be staying at in a given community. This provides a nearly instant connection with audiences.

“They feel like they know you, and you are starting to know them.”

As to the new show, it’s being touted as a ‘wildly entertaining comedic expose’, and is indeed a long-awaited follow-up to Edward’s last visit to the Red Deer back in the spring of 2009.

A 14-year vet of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and the only Canadian to win the Vail, Colorado Invitational Comedy Competition, Edwards has also been nominated four times for Best Standup Comic – Canadian Comedy Awards. He’s taken home the award once as well.

He has also earned several Gemini nominations for Best Performance in a Comedy as well.

Originally from Timmins, Ontario, he has credited his folks with part of why he took to humour from a young age.

Armed with a dry expression, he has that rare ability to inject humour into everyday kind of topics. And adding to his appeal is that he stays decidedly down to earth.

Looking back at his formation for a career in comedy, one of the key moments came in high school when he was asked to read announcements because the valedictorian couldn’t show up. Just reading the material didn’t seem like much fun, he recalled.

Edwards opted to throw a funny spin on things and the audiences quickly appreciated his approach.

“That’s what put the hook in me,” he said. “I was also quite shy, so it was a good way to get to know people by getting a few jokes in there.”

He also jokes that he hasn’t matured a whole lot since he was 17, at least in terms of his sense of responsibility in the world.

Meanwhile, other performance highlights over the years include his 60 city cross-Canada tour for ‘Sleepless in Gogoma’.

He’s also been featured everywhere from Raising The Roof in Halifax to The Improv in Los Angeles and Evening At The Improv at Harrah’s in Las Vegas.

His humour, which delves into the oddities of everyday situations, has also been showcased on A&E’s Comedy Hits the Road, CTV’s Comedy Now, CBC’s Comics, The Multi-Cultural Show, The Prime Minister’s Show, Sleeping With The Elephant and The Halifax Comedy Festival (resulting in another Gemini nomination).

As to radio, Edwards has been featured on CBC Radio’s Madly off in all Directions, Brave New Waves and Eh? Canada.

For tickets, call 403-755-6626 or visit www.bkticketcentre.ca.

mweber@reddeerexpress.com