CBC RADIO'S LAUGH OUT LOUD GALA
Saturday, January 31. The 12th annual Icebreakers Comedy Festival brings you a LIVE comedy show being recorded for CBC Radio's Laugh Out Loud at the Royal Cambridge. Host of LOL himself, Ali Hassan MCs this amazing lineup of some of Canada's top comedians, including: Sam Burns, AJ Bate, Mike Lynch, Rebecca Kohler, Myles Morrison & Martha Chaves!
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Join us for Cocktail Hour prior to showtime!
*This venue is fully accessible*
MC
ALI HASSAN
Ali Hassan is a stand-up comic, actor and radio & television personality. He is the host of the comedy show Laugh Out Loud on CBC Radio and SiriusXM, and the host of Canada Reads - the annual “battle of the books” celebrating the best of Canadian literature.
Ali toured Canada as part of a Just for Laughs cross-country tour hosted by Rick Mercer, and is on tour again with his one-man show, Does This Taste Funny? He has appeared in a number of films including GOON, Mafia Inc., and My Spy, and he has been on numerous television shows including Murdoch Mysteries, Workin' Moms, Sort Of, Run The Burbs and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. You can see him on television currently in the new seasons of Boston Blue (CBS) and Doc (Fox).
His comedic memoir 'Is There Bacon In Heaven?' is out now with Simon & Schuster.
Featuring
SAM BURNS
Sam Burns is an electrifying stand-up comedian whose performances are a blend of off the cuff silliness and relatable humour. Having toured across Canada, he has opened for the renowned Michelle Wolf and has been featured on SiriusXM and Just for Laughs. Sam’s comedic journey reached new heights with his debut stand-up special, "LMNOP," now available on YouTube.
Featuring
AJ BATE
AJ Bate is a Libyan-born, Toronto-based comedian whose comedy straddles the line between the personal and the absurd. Drawing from his journey as an immigrant, AJ weaves sharp observations about culture, identity, and everyday life into hilariously unexpected punchlines. His style blends heartfelt storytelling with delightfully silliness, making every set feel like a conversation with your funniest friend.
Over nearly a decade in comedy, AJ has performed across Canada, bringing laughs from coast to coast. He’s been featured at Just For Laughs Toronto, hosted the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, appeared in the Toronto Fringe Festival, and won the Canned Laughter competition in 2022. In 2019, he was nominated for Hamilton’s Rising Star award, further cementing his place as one of the most exciting comedic voices.
Whether riffing on immigrant life, exploring the quirks of human behavior, or diving into wildly absurd scenarios, AJ’s comedy is as charming as it is unpredictable — a reflection of the unique path that brought him from Libya to Canada’s biggest stages.
Featuring
MIKE LYNCH
From The Outhouse TV and Just for Laughs Originals on SiriusXM, Mike Lynch has become a well-known face in Canadian comedy. His voices, story telling and wide range of popular sketch characters has gained him an online following that continues to grow and pack shows all across the country.
Featuring
REBECCA KOHLER
An award-winning stand-up comic, Rebecca Kohler has made several appearances at festivals
such as the Just For Laughs Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, the Halifax Comedy
Festival, among others, and has toured and performed at clubs and venues throughout North
America including Yuk Yuk's, Absolute Comedy, Comedy Bar, the Hollywood Improv and the
Comedy Store. A Canadian Comedy Award Winner and 2019 Juno Nominee for Best Comedy Album, Kohler is no stranger to the accolades available to a successful comedian. To boot, she made her debut as a TV writer in 2010 on Canada’s infamous news-satire show, This Hour Has 22 Minute (CBC). Since then, Rebecca found her niche in 30-minute scripted comedies, being staffed on the likes of The Sticky (Amazon), Humour Resources (CBC), Happy Together (CBS),
Schitt’s Creek (CBC/Netflix), Workin’ Moms (CBC/Netflix) and Kim’s Convenience (CBC/Netflix).
Rebecca has also melded her writing skills and stand-up background as a writer for the Just For
Laughs Galas including hosts such as Sarah Silverman, Mikey Day, Fortune Feimster, Roy Wood Jr., Wanda Sykes, Broad City, Whitney Cummings and Jim Gaffigan (CBC, Comedy Network, HBO Canada), to name a few.
Featuring
MYLES MORRISON
Myles has appeared at Just For Laughs, been featured on Amazon Prime’s stand up series' Comedy Brew & Laugh After Dark, and appeared on CBC’s Laugh Out Loud, The Debaters & Halifax Comedy Festival. Myles is instantly relatable, consistently delivering big laughs with his relaxed conversational style. His viral social media has reached millions of views, and he was a headliner at the 2022 Grey Cup Festival, Canada's biggest sporting event. Myles is a SiriusXM Canada’s Top Comic finalist, he’s performed multiple times overseas for NATO soldiers in 12 different countries, and toured with Just For Laughs “Comedy Night In Canada” Tour hosted by Rick Mercer.
Myles has also performed at comedy festivals across North America, including Moncton’s Hubcap, Atlanta’s Laughing Skull, Halifax, Okanagan and Las Vegas, and his comedy albums can regularly be heard on SiriusXM’s Comedy Club channel. Saskatchewan’s own Myles Morrison is a delight on stage. His clever blend of storytelling and observations make him a sure fire hit with any audience.
Featuring
MARTHA CHAVES
Martha Chaves is an award-winning comedian, actor, playwright, and comedy instructor whose fearless humour and cultural impact have made her a cornerstone of Canadian comedy.
She tours across Canada and performs at clubs, theatres, and corporate events, delivering stand-up comedy and keynote engagements.
After six nominations, Martha won the title of Stand-Up Comic of the Year at the 2018 Canadian Comedy Awards. In 2023, she was named one of Telelatino's Ten Most Influential Hispanic Canadians. In 2025, she earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her standout set in The Root of All Evil at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. A regular on CBC's The Debaters, Because News, and Laugh Out Loud, Martha has also headlined two national comedy specials: COMICS! (CBC) and Something About Martha (CTV).
A veteran of Just For Laughs, Winnipeg, and Halifax Comedy Festivals, Martha's versatility has taken her from entertaining UN Peacekeeping Troops in the Middle East to performing for the Nobel Women's Initiative, led by five Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and hosting the TIFF sing-alongs of The Sound Of Music, The Greatest Showman and Encanto.
