"Kosher-style" comedian Talia Reese defies categorization at Chutzpah! Plus, March 20
The standup artist also happens to follow Modern Orthodox Judaism and was once a New York City attorney

Talia Reese.
Chutzpah! Plus Spring Edition presents Talia Reese at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre on March 20
SYNAGOGUE FUNDRAISERS, country-club shows, and subterranean comedy-club nights: they’re all in a day’s work for Talia Reese, a multitalented, Modern Orthodox Jewish comedian who also happens to be a former New York City bankruptcy attorney.
Those experiences, and that as a Long Island mother and wife to a “nice, Canadian husband,” will provide plenty of grist for her one-of-a-kind, “Kosher-style” comedy when she hits the Chutzpah! Plus program next week.
Amid her many Insta clips, Teese calls herself “flamboyantly, flaming Jewish.” What’s unorthodox about her comedy may be a fearlessness on the scale of one of her heroes, the late, great Joan Rivers; in fact, Reese grew up going to the Catskills to see that comedian.
She's opened for the likes of Gilbert Gottfried, Nick Di Paolo, and Jim Gaffigan. Chutzpah audiences will remember her from its 2022 edition; she's back by popular demand—and still defying simple categorizations. Except for "funny", of course.
Janet Smith is cofounder and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.
Related Articles
Created by Vancouver’s Shana Myara, docuseries available for streaming on OUTtv.com highlights racialized and queer comedians
This year’s event, on from August 7 to 17, also features a standup comedy show by YouTube star Manpreet Singh and all-ages dance workshops
Molly Ringwald movies, ham waffles at Bino’s, D.O.A. concerts, and that night Dubya killed onstage: comedy star recalls highlights in a colourful career
At Little Mountain Gallery, an array of comedians will work around the clock writing jokes for the standup artist
Multitalented team of Deanna H. Choi and Maddie Bautista turns a satirical spotlight on the destructive ideal of the perfect Asian woman
At The Cultch, the politically pointed show interweaves songs, storytelling, and satire in a battle cry for Asian femmes
The improvisational-comedy icon from Whose Line Is It Anyway? comes back to where his career began
Each 90-minute show based on the hit reality-TV series ends with a dramatic final rose ceremony
At The Cultch’s Warrior Festival, comedic writers Katey Hoffman and Cheyenne Rouleau explore a messy new life phase
The standup artist also happens to follow Modern Orthodox Judaism and was once a New York City attorney
The artist got his big break on The Big Sick
Amanda Montell’s rowdy Big Magical Cult Show, Ashley Gavin’s unmatched crowd work, and local standup stars at the Vancouver Art Gallery bistro
A background that includes work as an electronics technician, a stint as a Marine, and a childhood in foster care has helped shape the standup’s unique and irreverent take on the world
Valentine’s Day and the month of February have plenty in store for lovers looking for a laugh
The member of Ruutu10 joins improv teams from Zimbabwe, New Zealand, and the Philippines for The Improv Centre’s THE HEAT—An International Improv Comedy Showcase
Troupes performing include SPIT Manila from the Philippines, New Zealand’s Second Breakfast, Estonia’s Ruutu10, and Zimbabwe’s The Impro Show
Neworld Theatre’s one-woman production mixes stand-up comedy and storytelling in an unapologetic dissection of fatphobia
At the Little Mountain Gallery, improvisers draw on Shakespeare plays to craft an all-new tragedy
Sugar Sammy, Tim Dillon, and Roy Wood Jr. among names announced for festival running February 13 to 23
IndigE-girl Comedy focuses on voices that are often marginalized in mainstream comedy
Physical-comedy duo Katie Yoner and Dayna Lea Hoffmann of the Batrabbit Collective play the province’s last two rats on a mission for survival
In festive new show created by Jalen Saip, the plot is propelled almost entirely by viewer suggestions
Merry/Happy/Jolly is a choose-your-own-adventure holiday production that runs all season, while NYC at TIC on December 31 rings in 2025 with style
Spontaneous laughs meet heart-racing suspense in show that sends up TV phenomenon Traitors
New show created by Allen Morrison is based on the hit reality-TV series The Traitors
The comedy revisits cast members’ hormone-fuelled puberty-era days
The ever-self-effacing Kids in the Hall star still finds his happy place onstage, whether he’s in a sketch, alone, or improvising with strangers
Canadian comedy legend will perform a just-announced evening of improv and standup sets, plus teach two writing and performance workshops
Hitting Indian Summer Festival, the poet, standup, and fashion and nonbinary icon strives to make the world “a little bit more magnificent”