Instead of kissing babies as a way to win over voters, a Lethbridge candidate has stepped out of the box and is instead using satire to entertain locals. Solomon Krygier-Paine also known as Solly, is not focusing on winning over voters. Instead Paine is bringing an ironic voice to the Lethbridge political scene. Logically, Paine aligned himself with the political party that he most agreed with; the Rhinoceros Party of Canada.
“I have always liked satire and I have always liked the Rhinoceros party, so when the opportunity came, I promised myself I would do it,” said Paine.
Paine has been using his odd sense of humour in the political forums as a way to get noticed. Whether he is anxiously awaiting the start to the forum by jamming out on his keyboard, or answering every question asked in rhyme, Paine has not lost sight of why he is running in the first place. Paine’s ironic political viewpoints have proven successful in both entertaining the audience as well as politicians on stage during the forums.
During the all candidates political debate held at the University of Lethbridge on Sept. 30, both Rachael Harder, the Conservative candidate, as well as Mike Pyne, the Liberal runner, picked Paine as their vote if they couldn’t vote for themselves.
“There are very few things on this campaign that Rachael and I tend to agree on, but I think I’m going to vote for Solly,” said Pyne.
Paine has been performing comedy since high school, having started out learning improve with the Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary. Here in Lethbridge, Paine has still been honing his comedy craft participating in the Owl Acoustic Lounge Open Mic comedy night whenever he gets the chance. On stage, when Paine remembers to bring his instruments, he sings satirical songs instead of doing a typical stand up comedy set.
Paine’s long time friend and fellow Owl Open Mic comedian Brett Hutchinson feels Solly’s satirical sense of humour on and off stage has important political benefits.
“Comedy isn’t there just to make people laugh, it’s there to make people think critically by holding politicians accountable and trying to poke fun at them. I think it promotes a higher understanding of what they are actually doing,” said Hutchinson.
When Paine is not at forums or on stage singing, there is a high probability he is catching up on his homework. Paine is a fourth year anthropology major at the University of Lethbridge and his love for satire helps fuel his critical thinking.
“There is no objective right way of looking at things, but it’s a very narrow perspective that’s created in our society in categorizing things and I like how anthropology breaks that apart and make me think about things differently,”
Instead of pushing his own political beliefs, Paine has decided to promote critical thinking and satire through comedy instead. You can catch Paine on stage next at the Owl’s Open Mic night on Oct.14.
