Comics battle noisy neighbours, rowdy crows to make audiences laugh during pandemic

Three Halifax-based comics are keeping audiences laughingin the middle of a pandemic by bringing standup to theirbackyards.

With tours cancelled and many comedy shows still not happening, Adrienne Gabrielle said she was feeling down and looking for a way to keep doing what she loves.

When she heard about acomic in Alberta hosting fire pitshows, she called him up to learn more, and thought of a few fellow comics to join her on her mission.

"I thought, 'Well, who would I get? Who are two people that would be reliable and super funny?' And they were busy so I got Kirsten and Travis," she said.

The trio's first Lawn Laughs show was in mid-June when the maximum number of people who could gather was 10. Now, as restrictions ease, they can entertain up to50 people, provided physical distancing is practised.

But landing the perfect joke is more challenging now, and can meandealing with heckling crows and the incessantsound of a neighbour mowing their lawn.

"One of our gigs we had a dog behind us that was really rambunctious," said Gabrielle. "I do parodies sometimes of songs and I was like singing the song and he got right excited and it totallythrew me off."

Kirsten Finchsaid their outdoor sets have a very different vibe than atypical comedy show in a club.

"No. 1, it's usually light out, so comedy is always harder when there's light," she said."People tend usually to be more sober. Comedy is harder when people are sober because people tend to be more self-conscious."

But it's all been worth it,Travis Lindsay added.

When Gabrielle asked him to join Lawn Laughs, he hadn't been on stage in months.

"The shows so far have been great. I realized how much I really miss doing this," he said."Even though we were nervous, the audience themselves were all so excited to be able to see something live and some form of entertainment that's, like, not Netflix."

The comedians hope to continue making Nova Scotianslaugheven as the weather gets colder.

That is, until something better comes along.

"Unless I'm booked somewhere else, then I'm going to ditch them," said Lindsay. "But until then, we're a team."