THUNDER BAY - Ismo Leikola, a Finnish-born comedian, said there is a stereotype that paints all Finnish people as unenthusiastic, or afraid to try new things.
“There is somehow a stereotype of Finnish people to not be enthusiastic of things,” Leikola said. “Like down to earth, too much down to earth. Like don’t try anything new.”
Leikola doesn’t believe in that stereotype, because he has been unafraid of trying new things, and his comedic observations of everyday life and language are taking him somewhere new yet again, as he prepares to perform at this year’s Saint Urho Festival in Thunder Bay.
For the past 15 years, Leikola has been performing stand-up comedy in his native Finland. In the last few years, he has taken his act to English-speaking audiences, and after performing in the United Kingdom and Europe, he made his Hollywood debut in the United States at the Laugh Factory, where he was named the Funniest Comic in the World in 2014.
“That was unbelievable,” Leikola said. “That was my first ever gig in that competition. That was really a life changing thing. Before that I had never done anything in America. That really suddenly woke me up and to say it is possible to go to America, and Canada, and I’m going to Australia. The world opened up to me after that. So that was really a big thing for me.”
According to Leikola, his comedy is difficult to define because he talks about so many different things in his act. He describes it as observational, thoughts about the world and people, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
“Its ideas and observations and sometimes a little surreal, but very logical,” he said. “I look at language a lot. That is one of my main interests, how we speak and words and phrases.”
Leikola said Finnish can be a very weird language because it is not related to any other language in the world. But making the transition from performing in Finnish to English, and sometimes back again, while challenging at times, can also benefit how he approaches writing.
“There is something about doing it in two languages that makes it easier to notice weird stuff in language,” he said.
“When I first started to do English, I almost had to start from scratch,” Leikola continued. “It’s so different and so much of my comedy is language based. But then, later on, I discovered there is lots of stuff I can translate and do in either language.”
And just as his own brand of comedy can be difficult to pin down, so is Finnish humour in general. Leikola said there are so many different kinds of humour in the nation, but if he were to generalize it, he would say that the humour comes from how Finnish people can be a shy and quiet people.
“Finnish people can be really socially awkward sometimes,” he said. “When we go to the store to buy milk, at the cashier we can be afraid that hopefully we can handle this without shame. It can be kind of scary, like everyday things. When we are sober. But when we are drunk, it’s much easier.”
This will be Leikola’s first time in Thunder Bay and he’s excited to see the city’s Finnish culture, (and try the pancakes), and participate in the celebration of Saint Urho.
After all, stereotypes are not always true, and sometimes breaking free can lead to some pretty exciting things, especially for the people of Finland, including Leikola, who was never one to believe in stereotypes anyway.
“There are a lot of tech companies and comedians in Finland trying new things, so those stereotypes don't apply as much anymore,” he said.
Ismo Leikola will be performing on Thursday and Friday evening at 8 p.m. at the Finlandia. For more information, visit the Finlandia website.
