Small Fish

Small Fish—The Rachel Browne Theatre

I’m starting with the disclaimer that sketch isn’t my genre. I saw one episode of SNL in my life and while all my friends raved about it when we were still in elementary school, it didn’t do anything for me.

That continues today, where the sketches didn’t do anything for me; however the audience was aroar in laughter. I will defer to the audience’s assessment that this was good and funny.

Music? One of the actors isn’t great at singing, but I don’t think that’s the point; it’s more of a backyard and beer entertainment kind of idea. The other has serviceable pipes, in a “sketchy” kind of way. The songs are silly but catchy for the most part.

The storytelling? The camp story was a great tale with numerous humorous parts but I’m sorry, it’s just amateurish when you read the entire story straight out of your phone. Take the time to memorise your story—it’s not a complicated dissertation. At very least, use a few cue cards if you need.

Finally, that last story? I just found it sad, not performance-sad, but emotionally-sad. We got a puppy and before he got to adoption age, we already bonded to him from photos. The breeder (I know, we should rescue—and we already had a rescue that was(is) a huge handful and we could not take two) told us that he had a physical disability and offered a different puppy if we could wait a few weeks longer. There was no way we could reject him because—even though we haven’t physically met yet—he was already family.

It was absolutely heartbreaking to see a little girl reject a pet because of their looks and physical expectations. I know, they eventually bond but then it turns south again. For a comedy show, I didn’t leave with good feelings.

It was a bit of a roller coaster ride, with fun, laughter, then a heart-punch at the end.

Ray Yuen