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Grand Laughs with Colin Mochrie, Ali Hassan, and Rebecca Northan
Canada’s funniest bring their twist on improv, hypnosis, and stand-up to both Grand Theatre Spriet and Auburn Stages
HYPROV with Colin Mochrie and Asad Mecci
NOV 8 on the Spriet Stage
THE SOAPS with Spontaneous Theatre – Rebecca Northan
and Kevin Kruchkywich
JAN 21 to 30 on the Auburn Stage
DOES THIS TASTE FUNNY? with Ali Hassan
MAR 7 on the Spriet Stage
grandtheatre.com/event/grand-laughs
July 28, 2026 – London, ON – Introducing Grand Laughs, the Grand Theatre’s inaugural comedy series. Improv, standup, and conceptual comedy from Canada’s leading comic talent spanning both the Spriet and Auburn Stages throughout the 2026/27 Season: All in Grand Time.
Grand Laughs will kick off with HYPROV starring improv legend Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Second City) and renowned hypnotist Asad Mecci. The Grand has also unveiled that the series will include The Soaps, new from the exciting Canadian improv theatre company Spontaneous Theatre (Rebecca Northan and Kevin Kruchkywich) and Does This Taste Funny?,the newest solo show by standup comic and actor, Ali Hassan (CBC, Just For Laughs).
COLIN MOCHRIE & ASAD MECCI:
HYPROV – Improv Under Hypnosis
NOV 8 on the Spriet Stage
From improv legend Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and world-renowned hypnotist Asad Mecci, HYPROV is a boundary-breaking comedy experience that fuses hypnosis and improvisation into one electrifying show. One night only on the Spriet Stage!
SPONTANEOUS THEATRE:
The Soaps
… A LIVE, IMPROVISED SOAP OPERA
JAN 21 to 30, 2027 on the Auburn Stage
Join us on the Auburn Stage for a new show every night! This time it’s a live, improvised soap opera – set in London – and brought to life by Rebecca Northan and Kevin Kruchkywich, the duo behind the exciting Canadian improv theatre company, Spontaneous Theatre (Blind Date, An Undiscovered Shakespeare, Goblin:Macbeth, and more).
ALI HASSAN:
Does This Taste Funny?
DECONSTRUCTING A CHEF’S JOURNEY FROM FOOD TO COMEDY
MAR 7, 2027 on the Spriet Stage
Standup comic, actor, and host of CBC Radio’s Laugh Out Loud, Ali Hassan's career plans started off as simply as anyone’s: become a chef, get a food show on television, get a second food show on television, be the face of the network, and have oven mitts with his face on them. But sometimes things get in the way of your dreams: like your parents’ disappointment, your family of four children, and your successful comedy career. A hilarious exposition of Ali’s journey in and out of the culinary world, in which he spent 12 years. Think Eat, Pray, Love....minus the Prayer.
The star-studded Grand Laughs lineup is being released as a three-show series on sale as of Wednesday, July 29 at 9 a.m. available in-person at the Box Office, by phone at 519.672.8800, and online at grandtheatre.com/event/grand-laughs. Grand Theatre subscribers receive early access to the series and can take advantage of an exclusive subscriber-only pre-sale on Tuesday, July 28.
The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor BMO and Downtown Community Partner Old Oak Properties for their generous support.
To learn more about Grand Laughs at the Grand Theatre, please visit grandtheatre.com/event/grand-laughs. Follow the series and peek behind the scenes by following @thegrandlondon and #GrandLaughs on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, TikTok, & Substack.
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The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional territories of the Original storytellers and caretakers of this land and the Nations, both settler and Indigenous, who continue to uphold the various treaties of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapéewak. We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nations, and all of the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (colonially known as North America), and acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we live, work, share, and tell stories together.
ABOUT THE GRAND THEATRE – WORLD CURIOUS. LONDON MADE.
The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premier producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians.
As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our beautifully renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series, community arts rentals, and cultural and special events.
A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the first program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-eighth year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team.
For more information, visit: grandtheatre.com.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Colin Mochrie & Asad Mecci available together on Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29 for DJ phoners, in-studio segments, on air hypnosis demonstrations, joke-of-the-day stings, “Whose joke is it anyway?” call-ins, improv mini games with hosts, “great duos” ticket contests.
PHOTOGRAPHY
When available, additional photography will be added to the linked folder above. If you are working towards a deadline and are including photography, please contact Melissa Mae Shipley for the best and fastest options available at any moment.
FOR MORE INFORMATION & ALL MEDIA INQUIRIES
Melissa Mae Shipley, Communications and Public Relations Manager
mshipley [at] grandtheatre.com (mshipley[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)
office: 519.672.9030 x266
cell: 519.280.4008
