How is it possible that I haven’t seen Graham Clark before this? I saw his show Instagraham at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace as part of the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival and he is so funny. My stomach muscles are still sore from laughing. I bet that the man who sat next to me also has sore stomach muscles too. And probably the woman who sat next to him. Probably everyone in the audience does.
Clark is the kind of comedian I love. He’s relaxed, there’s nothing frenetic about him. Sometimes he thinks things are as funny as the audience does and he laughs right along with us. It’s lovely.
The show consists of Clark sharing his Instagram account with the audience. He has a laptop and a screen. It’s sort of like the olden days when we would sit around and Dad or Uncle Joe would show vacation slides.
But these aren’t vacation pix. They’re a wild assortment of images with no real discernible pattern except that Clark thought they were interesting or funny. Mostly funny. It’s a great idea for a show.
He talks about them as he shows them. Sometimes he just says a couple of words and sometimes there’s quite a long explanation. Either way, it’s always funny.
Clark is one of those people who see things from a different angle than most of the rest of us. As he’s explaining and you’re laughing you’re also thinking ‘of course, how could I have not seen that?’.
I really, really don’t want to spoil even one part of the show so I’m not going to tell you about any of the pictures. Trust me though. Go see the show. You’ll laugh a lot.
Details
- Instagraham plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. (16 Ryerson Ave)
- Tickets are $12 at the door and in advance, and can be bought online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Fringe Club at Honest Ed’s Alley, and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes for serious Fringers.
- Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
- Content Warning: Mature Language.
- This venue is NOT wheelchair-accessible.
Performances
- Saturday July 2nd, 06:45 pm
- Sunday July 3rd, 02:45 pm
- Monday July 4th, 11:00 pm
- Wednesday July 6th, 03:00 pm
- Thursday July 7th, 08:00 pm
- Friday July 8th, 01:45 pm
- Saturday July 9th, 04:30 pm
Photo of Graham Clark by David Bruce