He studied classics at the University of Toronto, where he got his first introduction to the works of the ancient Greek comic playwright, Aristophanes.

In September 1995, his version of Aristophanes' The Clouds opened at the Poor Alex Theatre in Toronto, and, buoyed by positive reviews, ran for 15 months before embarking on a tour of Central and Eastern Canada.

Other works of theatre produced include the musicals Lysistrata, Assemblywomen, The Tokyo Affair, as well as two operas for children, Allegra's Magic Flute, and Orphea and the Golden Harp.

In the rakugo tradition, he received both his master's last name and part of the first (his master, Sanshi combined the first part of his name, "San", meaning "three", with the Japanese word for "Shine", and gave it the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Sunshine").

Sunshine received his professional debut in Singapore on April 26, 2009,[2][3] and completed his three-year rakugo apprenticeship in November 2011.