Joey Elias headlines a night of stand-up for mental health

Code Comedy returns for its third year at The Atwater Club Oct. 16th

Casual visitors at any given hospital may have occasionally heard the words “Code Orange” (for external emergencies) or “Code Blue” (for cardiac arrest) urgently broadcast over the intercom systems as a call to action but “Code Comedy”? What’s that?

“That’s easy” says Montreal businessman, John Archer, and volunteer fundraiser, “that’s a call to come to the Atwater Club for a night of stand-up laughter and to raise funds for a great cause!”

Gino Durante is one of the Code Comedy performers

Now in its third year, Archer gathers a coterie of comedians whom he has curated from some of the shows he has seen over the last 12 months, and puts on Code Comedy in an effort to raise funds for the Prevention and Early Intervention of Psychosis Program (PEPP) through the Montreal General Hospital Foundation. “I don’t just want to raise fund for this important program that literally saves young adult lives of those who have become untethered from reality, but I also want to help stimulate a conversation around the benefits of comedy on one’s mental health! Speaking from personal experience, I know how happy I feel when I leave a great evening of comedy, and I want to initiate that experience for others as well!”

Take Joey Elias (Code Comedy’s headliner for the third year) as an example. For Joey Elias performing standup comedy has long served him as a way to deal with his own bouts of anxiety which he experiences on a daily basis. “When I am preforming on a stage any issue or aches or pains that may have been bothering me that day simply disappears during my set.”

For Olivia Benaroche, the surprise hit from last year’s show, using humour helped her cope when she was suddenly diagnosed with APL Leukemia a few years ago. She found the news “so shocking that my comedic brain went into overdrive! I remember going through my first bone marrow biopsy which is a fairly invasive and painful procedure right through the pelvic bone. As the doctor administered the local anesthesia, I squeezed my blanket really hard and through tears of pain said, “Doc! You’re a literal pain in my ass right now!” I managed to get this austere, veteran doctor to chuckle. It was a healing moment.” Benaroche attributes humour as a way that allowed her to stay positive during her medical ordeal. “You are in a terrible situation that you can’t control so all you can do is to stay positive and laugh through it. I was out of the hospital and in remission four weeks later! I can’t help but think that my comedic outlook had a lot to do with my recovery.”

So, perhaps it’s true, when they say ‘laughter is the best medicine’? Whether you need a dose of comedy for all that ails you or simply to end your day on a happy note, head to Code Comedy on October 16^th at the Atwater Club. According to Archer “Laughs are one hundred per cent guaranteed!”

Code Comedy 2024: Starring Joey Elias, Gino Durante, Elspeth Wright, Olivia Benaroche, Darren Henwood and hosted by John Archer. Wednesday,  October 16^th, 7:30pm
The Atwater Club, 3505 Atwater Avenue, Montreal.
Tickets available on Eventbrite at https://codecomedy2024.eventbrite.ca/