The comedy of a gay, super cute Asian

25 May 2023 -

“I began my career in Alberta 20 years ago, but I never got to do an all-queer show until about 10 years ago,” said Vong Sundara over coffee at the Second Cup. Vong, who professionally goes by the name Vong Show, is not just a talented performer, but a prodigious producer as well. Among his many ventures are the new comedians showcase Fresh; he is on the committee for the JUNO Awards Comedy Album of the Year category; and he signs all his letters with “Official Spokesperson for Gay, Super Cute Asians”. 

But right now, he’s put his producer hat on the rack so he can do some stand-up in two upcoming shows, Pride-A-Palooza and Homo Night in Canada. So how does a super cute Asian handle an audience? “I know that often the audience isn’t going to be able to relate to me because they don’t know what it’s like to be a gay Asian war refugee from the ghetto, but I’m going to share my stories with them and hopefully they will come along for the journey. Literally, people in Alberta would come up to me after the show and say, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen an Asian in real life.’ And they meant it in a good way. It’s the same with queer comedy. I never shied away from it no matter who was in the audience.”

As a producer, Vong is never less than busy. He does big shows at places like the Paradise Theatre or the Glenn Gould Studio, as well as smaller shows at places like Comedy Bar and the Rivoli. Vong said that his shows attract a mix of people - half straight, half queer, half white, half visible minorities - and he noticed that when he does a queer joke, the straight half of the audience will wait to see if the gay half is laughing before giving themselves permission to laugh. Same with a mixed-race crowd - the white people will wait to see if the Asians are laughing. Geez, it’s tough to be an audience nowadays. But it has probably never been a better time to be a queer comic.