Ahren Belisle, Cerebral Comedic Assassin With Cerebral Palsy
Don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t judge a comedian by their malady appearance on America’s Got Talent. Two lessons you learned really quickly in the audience of Wiseguys Town Square on Thursday night when comedian Ahren Belisle took the stage.
Ahren was born with Cerebral Palsy, which is evident when he takes the stage. The condition has affected the left hand side of his body, along with stealing his voice away. A comedian that can’t talk. If you saw him on AGT, you may have seen a sweet guy with his dog making relatively safe for television jokes.
If you arrived at Wiseguys expecting that, you were in for a brutal and hysterical awakening. Taking the stage after opening act Michael Glatzmaier (who was outstanding in his own right), Ahren set the tone right away gauging the audience and where they are coming from. While some were there because of his appearance on AGT, many others were there because of his appearance on the live show and podcast Kill Tony.
Ahren Belisle Gets His Big “Kill Tony” Break
While many got their first look at Ahren on NBC, his big comedy break came from the Austin, Texas-based live show Kill Tony hosted by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. The no-holds-barred show has comedians throwing their name in a bucket and hoping for their chance to do a 1 minute set on stage. Ahren got his shot in early 2023.
Walking onto the stage, an awkward silence befell the crowd. Ahren Belisle took his time placing the microphone on a Bluetooth speaker. With the audience whipped into a silence, he whipped out his phone. His first joke landed big time, and the crowd was his.
Fast forward to Ahren’s set at Wiseguys, and someone in the crowd razzed him for taking too long to set up for his first joke. Ahren, with a glimmer in his eye, opened his text-to-voice app on his phone and told him “F*** you,” to the delight of the crowd.
What followed was a long and not safe for work set that featured both prepared material and crowd work. The sheer gall to go on stage, type out your responses methodically allowing the audience to get whisper quiet, only to raise them from the dead 10 seconds later is unbelievable. It breaks every rule of comedy. There is no riding a wave of laughter. Ahren earns every laugh.
Ahren Belisle has had to deal with people thinking he is “slow” or “incapable” due to Cerebral Palsy, but I wouldn’t test him. He’s as fast as they come, even if it takes a few seconds to type out his brutal retort on your stupidity.
The Canadian comedian is on a nationwide tour, and while we don’t know when he’ll be in Las Vegas next, you should make it a point to go. Just sit away from the front and don’t heckle him or you’ll be given a brutal and hilarious flogging.
