By Ivy Weir • Halifax • 2026-07-28
On the night of 20 July 2026 at Gus’s Pub on Agricola Street, a special all Queer Pride edition of Monday Night LOL - a weekly staple at the venue - took place. The evening’s lineup featured both veteran performers and some fresh-ish blood.
The show was sponsored by the women's soccer team Halifax Tides FC – who gave away two pairs of tickets for the Sky Tables (which are some of the best seats at the Grounds, btw!) to the home game at the Wanderers Grounds on 3 August 2026. Read all about the Tides in this Wayves article. Regular Monday Night LOL sponsor Johny’s Pork Shack provided a voucher for “Twenty-Five-dollars in Dumplings, or whatever mouth-watering options fit your fancy from their magnificent menu.”
The Host
Catherine Robertson; born and raised in Moncton New Brunswick in 1983, attended the University of Kings College here in Halifax and completed the Foundation Year Program in 2002 – before pursuing a career in the performing arts. In addition to being a talented Stand-up Comedian in her own right; Robertson leads the ring at Bearly’s House of Blues in Grafton Street, where she likes to create a space for her fellow Queer Performers. She has been performing for about two decades now and balances her public facing career with her private life as a wife and mother.
Headline Act
Maddie Arsenault (no relation to the host of CBC's The National Adrienne, I checked) despite being relatively new to the scene, having just marked her one-year anniversary on the Maritime comedy circuit, has been making quite a splash. The – recently – bisexual, 27-year-old Lower Sackville native first began performing stand-up while living in Australia before moving back to Nova Scotia in June 2025. She has also already achieved the goal of any creative and quit her corporate day job making the jump to being a full-time performer.
Highlights
Fanny Packs’ innate on-stage – and indeed off-stage – presence is an absolute delight to behold. With immaculate improvisational sense, tech management, a willingness to say the word "cunt" as well as a background in SRE – that is, Sex and Relationship Education – which immediately endears this writer to almost anyone, they are without question one of my most highly recommended acts from the night. Indulge yourself and go see this Comedian-Come-Burlesque-Come-Drag-Performer!
Sharon McCormack’s deadpan delivery, puns, wordplay, puns, crowd work and puns make this Demi Lesbian comedian a must see for any of you connoisseurs of Dad – or perhaps that should be “Daddy,” mm-hmm, that’s right I see you – Jokes.
Vanessa Allen, when not busy saving lives as an EMT: this graduate of Halifax’s Fountain School of the Performing Arts can be found prescribing laughs at venues all throughout the HRM.
Adrienne Gabrielle who has appeared on Just for Laughs and Sirius XM Radio is a clear rising star – and Wayves readers should stay tuned for a future announcement!
Clare Belford is a staff writer for long running satirical news program “This Hour has 22 Minutes” on the CBC and has also performed on Just for Laughs.
Monday Night LOL and Pridal Wave are the projects of one Matthew Murphy – a Stand-up Performer himself as well as a Show Producer and an Ally to the Q Community.
Khalifa, Abhishek Buchar, and Victoria Gibson Billings were on stage that night too.
Find any of them on social media to know about their upcoming spots.
