It’s comic vs. comic and place vs. place in this ‘battle for the laughs’ comedy show
Hosted by Danish Anwar and performed sporadically in cities across the world (this time at Yuk Yuk’s), Your Hood’s a Joke is a “roast battle” where comics attempt to decimate each other’s communities. Each round enlarges the combat area, with this outing’s first round featuring two cities, then two provinces, two countries, and two continents.
The show bills itself as “uncensored,” and warns, “While we pride ourselves on smart comedy that punches up, there will be no restriction on what can or cannot be joked about. Please exercise discretion if you wish to avoid hearing jokes about sensitive subject matter.”
Pass Over is tense, urgent theatre, now playing in Toronto
Antoinette Nwandu’s searing Pass Over is a riff on Waiting For Godot by way of Key and Peele, which replaces the signature tree with a streetlight and Beckett’s existentialist tramps with young black men who can’t find a way out of a perpetual cycle of racism-driven poverty and violence. The prophetically-named Moses (Kaleb Alexander) and his friend Kitch (Mazin Elsadig) dream about finally arriving at the Promised Land from their street corner.
They make Top Ten lists of what they’ll find when they reach the other side, some extravagant, some simple human pleasures they’ve been denied. They rant, pace, provide a running commentary about life…and raise their hands in fear when the police searchlight blindingly invades their space, yet again. “Do what you can,” they say, “but what can you do?”
Ed (Mark Paci) has been thrown out by his wife for drinking. He’s staying with his godmother Bev (Elizabeth Saunders) until he can get back on his feet. They have quite the relationship – capable of caring and loving for each other, but also of irritating each other to no end. Continue reading Review: Dock Mother God Society (Blood Pact Theatre)→
Trout Stanley hits all the right notes with its impeccable direction and dynamic acting
Do you ever watch a show and think to yourself: ‘this feels like exactly what I have been missing.’ Claudia Dey’s Trout Stanley, playing at the Factory Theatre Mainspace as part of their 50th season, is that play for me.
I sat in my seat and thought: weird, funny, rhythmic – this is exactly the type of play I feel like I never get to see.
Playwright Qui Nguyen’s New York-based Vampire Cowboys theatre company is often credited as the originators of “Geek Theatre” – theatre inspired by superheroes, graphic novels, and martial arts flicks, often presented at comic cons. “Geek Theatre” is alive and well in Toronto.
It’s comic vs. comic and place vs. place in this ‘battle for the laughs’ comedy show
Pass Over is tense, urgent theatre, now playing in Toronto
