Montreal sketch crew The House of Style invades the Toronto Fringe Festival

The three men of The House of Style are plucky and energetic, and I felt a little bad that the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace was so empty for their first show. This trio of funny guys hailing from Montreal brought with them Get Off the Stage presents: All Their Golden Hits, a sketch comedy endeavour that was a tad lacklustre, though still fairly enjoyable.

The comedy ranges from physical to vaguely cerebral –with a good amount of yelling in between- and I have to say that I was really impressed with Kyle Allatt’s style despite dealing with some kind of injury. For real, the man is on a cane for the whole show, and the ad lib integration of his new-found hobbling stature is definitely laugh-worthy (to clarify, Kyle’s got a torn Achilles tendon).

Built up of a number of sketches, the show flowed relatively smoothly from one scene to the next. With limited set and props, there were some transitions that took a longer amount of time that I expected, which might’ve dampened the pace just a touch.

Some highlights for me were definitely the “Van Halen” dance number, the Jesus sketch and the final scene that was some good, clean(ish) wet and wild good times. Between Kyle’s wry delivery, Tim Diamond’s explosive movement and Ryan Hipgrave’s exuberance, the three Montrealais make a swell team and you can tell they enjoy working together.

I’m hoping, for them, that their audience grows a bit during their run, because I feel like they could use a bit of return on the energy they expel.

Is this show drop dead amazing? No. Did it make me laugh? Absolutely. There were some references that lost me a bit, but considering the Fringe’s price tag, I think these boys are worth taking a look at if you’re into sketch comedy.

Details

• Get Off the Stage presents: All Their Golden Hits is playing at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson Ave.)
• Showtimes: July 05 06:30 PM, July 06 10:15 PM, July 07 06:15 PM, July 09 01:30 PM, July 10 10:00 PM, July 11 09:45 PM, July 13 01:00 PM
• Individual Fringe tickets are available at the door for $10 ($5 for FringeKids), cash only. Late comers will not be permitted.
• Advance tickets are $11 ($9 + $2 service charge) are available online at fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 ext 1,  or in person during the festival at the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).
• Value packs are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows