Andy Jones to Tour with His Hit One-Man Show ‘An Evening with Uncle Val

In "An Evening with Uncle Val" Andy Jones takes the character he developed to tell the Newfoundland folktale "Jack meets the Cat"- Valentine Reardigan - and uses this character to explore a cultural identity in crisis. Set in 1987, the cultural clash between traditional outport life and modern Newfoundland is at its most critical. At the beginning of the show, Uncle Val is depressed. He is a retired fisherman whose age has forced him to move to St. John's to live with his daughter. Andy, himself a character in the show, is not that happy either. Perplexed and fatigued, Andy journeys across Canada making people laugh. He is uplifted, but also plagued by the voices of Joey Smallwood - the youngest father of confederation, and JFK - the icon of a successful Catholic,

Uncle Val the character and Andy Jones the comedic actor are the two principal characters in "An Evening with Uncle Val" and it's their stories the public follows:

Uncle Val is an indignant 70-year-old retired fisherman, displaced from his outport home and trapped in the big city of St. John's. The year is 1987. Homesick for his outport home, Val struggles to find out what life has left to offer him. Is there anything of use for a senior citizen in the suburbs to do? Any reason for him to continue on? Is there any mystery or magic left to discover? Uncle Val's journey brings the public encounters with The Beatles, the strange story of the Panama shoes, and the dangers of St. John's winters - or as Uncle Val sees it: The Seniors' Olympics. Uncle Val finds himself playing a part in the on-going drama of his son-in-law's George Street Pub. The Grapnel, while defining a special brand of babysitting dos and don'ts drawn from his experience as live-in babysitter for his daughter Margaret's rhyming youngsters - Jimmy and Kimmy. There are births and deaths, and a senior romance.

Andy Jones - the character - is a self-doubting, guilt-ridden, soulful comedian plagued by a need to do right. He is touring the nation of Canada. Everywhere he plays, Newfoundlanders and the odd Dane flock to his dressing room after the show. They are all home sick and want to touch the hem of his garment- which for the Newfoundlander away means take Andy for a beer. And he has to do it. Night after night trying to bring these Newfoundlanders some comfort, some small taste of the motherland, he has nothing left to give. But for the voices of Joey Smallwood, JFK, the inspiration of Francis Colbert and Anita Best, the glimpses of Jackie Kennedy and Bob Marley he would surely crumble under the strain.

In the end, both Uncle Val and Andy Jones use their imaginations, their deeply ironic sensibilities, and their ability to be silly in the face of disaster to discover the comedy in their situations. Uncle Val and Andy answer the universal question "Who am I?" with a deeper commitment to the fluid and ever-transforming experiences that are our lives.

“…a wonderful comic meditation on Newfoundland, daily life and everyone’s fear of mortality.” ~ Elissa Barnard, The Chronicle Herald

“Andy Jones brings one of his best-loved characters back to the stage. Jones is one dealer whose product we’re happily hooked on…Move fast to see Uncle Val.” ~ Gordon Jones, The Telegram

“One of Canada’s greatest comedic actors, Jones is not to be missed” ~ Ron Foley MacDonald, Halifax Daily News

“There’s no humorist in Canada I would rather spend time with” ~ Robert Crew, Toronto Star

Andy Jones has been a professional writer and actor for over thirty years. He has written five critically acclaimed one-man comedy shows: Out of the Bin, Still Alive, King O' Fun, To The Wall, and An Evening with Uncle Val. He has extensively toured, to critical acclaim, across Canada, the UK, and Ireland. This December, Andy launched his very successful CD Letters From Uncle Val with Rattling Books. The corresponding "reading that got out of hand" was held over twice by popular demand and awarded "Best Theatre Production" at The Scope's Best of St. John's Awards. Uncle Val has just finished another successful run at Eastern Front Theatre's "On The Waterfront" Festival, which was held in May 2007, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Jones was recently nominated for a Gemini for his performance in To The Wall on CBC Television's Opening Night series, as well as winning 'Best Performance' at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax. In September 2006, a film version of his one-man show King O' Fun premiered on BRAVO! and also played at The Atlantic Film Festival. Andy was born in St. John's, Newfoundland where he co-founded the Resource Centre for the Arts at the L.S.P.U. Hall, co-writing, acting in, and directing many original productions. He is well known in Canada as one of the groundbreaking Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO, in both its theatrical and television incarnations. With the CODCO collective he wrote 5 full-length theatre pieces: Cod On A Stick, Sickness Death and Beyond The Grave, Das Capital, Pocketcrumbs, and The Tale Ends. Other notable works include Albert, a one-act play for one man and a budgie bird, and the children's plays Jack Meets the Cat and Jack-Five-Oh. He has performed across Europe with The Madhouse Company of London, in England with The Ken Campbell Roadshow, and across Canada in theatre productions including The Time and Place (Theatre Smith-Gilmour, Toronto), Pilk's Madhouse (Second Stage, Halifax), Love and Anger (Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary), Pope Joan (Nightwood Theatre, Toronto), The Postal Show (Theatre P.E.I., Charlottetown), and Bloomsday (Anna Livia Productions, Toronto). In television he has co-written and performed in Kids in the Hall, Dooley Gardens, The Cathy Jones Special, and Nasty Habits. In film he played principal roles in Rare Birds, Brain Candy, Extraordinary Visitor, A Secret Nation, Paint Cans, Life With Billy, Coleslaw Warehouse, and The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (which he also co-wrote and directed). Andy's numerous awards include two Gemini awards, five Gemini nominations, two Emmy nominations, two Genie nominations, election to the Newfoundland Arts Council Hall of Honour, The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's Award of Excellence, and the ACTRA Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement. This winter watch for Andy as "Father Sand" in a new TV Pilot called The Altar Boy Gang, and as "Reverend Pottle" in the new feature film Young Triffie. Andy toured his one-man show To The Wall to the Ten Days on the Island Festival in Tasmania, Australia in March 2007. Andy just performed at the St. John's Comedy Festival and at the International Sound Symposium in St. Johns where he performed with singer-songwriter Mark Bragg. A documentary about Andy Jones, entitled "Mr Jones", recently screened at the Nickle Film Festival in St. John's. “Mr. Jones” is the work of student filmmaker Melissa Lee. AN EVENING WITH UNCLE VAL was selected to showcase at both the UNO Festival (Victoria, BC) and the Magnetic North Theatre Festival (Vancouver, BC) this past May and June.

AN EVENING WITH UNCLE VAL – 2008 TOUR DATES
July 31, August 1 & 2
Venue: Ships Company Theatre
www.shipscompany.com

Andy Jones is available for media interviews. You may contact Andy at email: ajones@nfld.net / www.andyjonesproductions.com