Heading into the Civic Centre for Russell Peters live in Ottawa, scepticism was in the air.
Could Peters drum up that much new material for his 20th anniversary tour, "RPXX"?
He could.
The evening started off with a hilarious, self-deprecating opening act from Jean Paul, a Trinidad-born but Canada-bred comedian.
With jokes mostly poking fun at his relationship with his wife and her Caribbean accent, he kept the audience in stitches and had the crowd perfectly warmed up for Peters to take the stage.
Peters’ act was constructed around what he does best: making people laugh by playing off cultural and racial stereotypes combined with his bang-on ability to nail any accent.
He sent the sold out audience into hysterics by good-naturedly poking fun at Arabs, Indians (of course), Chinese and Hispanics – even the Irish were not safe during Peters’ time on stage.
He pushed many audience members into tears with his jabs at relationships and the ridiculous way women act when in love.
And along the way he kept everyone entertained with a couple of good old poop jokes.
But what was most impressive was not Peters’ ability to spin side-splitting new material from the same old jokes, but his uncanny understanding of so many cultures all around the world.
Peters is a funny guy, but he is also a very intelligent and cultured man, and that’s what made his show so great – and so rare.
People thinking about snapping up tickets the next time he comes to town should consider hitting the gym and doing some sit ups for a couple of weeks before the show. Your abs will thank you for it after a night of non-stop laughter.