Graham Clark’s Quiz Show

Laugh Gallery—Comedy at Wee Johnny’s

Graham’s Clarke’s take on a game show is a fresh concept. He has taken only the very best aspects of all your favourite game shows and your favourite local comedians to bring you your new favourite quiz show. Each show features original segments. Segments consist of a loose idea followed by some google images. If you and your friends enjoyed laughing at stupid pictures on the internet this is the show for you. This show forced the two comedian guests to think on their feet as they both raced to come up with the funniest punch line for the picture. This shows success relies on how ‘on’ the guests are. If the comedians are having an off night the show would probably be a flop. Luckily my guests were hilarious and had me belly laughing. Definitely worth a watch if you want a some sweet puns and cutting one liners.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Yeats’s Ghosts

Protagonista Theatre Co.—Alto – Portage Place

The show opens with a dance, which is honestly the strongest part, even though it felt unnecessary. After that it went a little downhill. The performances were hit and miss, the hits feeling as though they were struggling with the script, and the misses stiff and flat. Several times they stumbled with their lines, which made it feel unprepared. If you like dance, they dance is wonderful, otherwise it’s an hour of slogging through choppy scene transitions, and a less than interesting storyline.

Arden Pruden

The After After Party

After Party Theatre—MTC Up the Alley

Two literal clowns wake up in a park after blacking out from their nights adventures. Through the magic of snorting a ton of Ritalin, they are transported through their memories to try and figure out what the hell happened last night. I too as an audience member spent most of the show trying to figure out what the hell is happening. It was an insane drug trip into the minds to two asshole buffoons. From the breakneck pace to the insane amount of jokes and gags these two ladies were tough to keep up with. It was an insane show guaranteed to offend you at least once. The material was incredibly dark and I felt incredibly uncomfortable at points. I personally don’t find date raping a guy you like to be funny. I also don’t particularly like watching someone’s brains being bludgeoned by a rock. I generally also get queasy at jokes about pedophilia. There were parts of the show I liked but I had a hard time coming back from these very problematic segments. I don’t know that I would recommend this show and still don’t know how I feel about it. I understand that they were trying to make the two main characters unlikable but I feel they went way too far. I would not recommend this show.

Kaitlyn Kriss

The World’s Fattest Contortionist Presents: “The 5 Star Revue ”

sideshowcomic—Planetarium

If you’ve got it- flaunt it, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. I will say however this show is best seen late at night, and at least 5 drinks deep. I saw it sober, so his raunchy, South Park style humour didn’t hit me the way I think he intended. It’s less contortion and more standup, unfortunately the standup can be a bit rambling, and he lost me more than once. If your ideal humour is the low hanging fruit, I would highly recommend this show. If not, have a few drinks and it will be.

Arden Pruden

God Is A Scottish Drag Queen VI

Mike Delamont—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Mike Delamont is back another show hosted by his beloved interpretation of God. By the 6th show you would think that God would have run out of things to say and called it quits. I was pleasantly surprised by some genuinely funny one liners. The shock value of the character may be long gone but it’s still a hilarious show. This show is certainly not for everyone, a lot of folks might take offense to some of the jokes. Jokes ranging from Trump, to anti-vaxers (anti-vaccinators) and an off the cuff joke about a dog choosing their own pronoun. It goes right in line with the character though. God is a larger than life, in your face, drag queen who is not afraid to speak their mind! A joyous swan song of a show, I look to seeing what’s next from Delamont.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Letters

Parachuting Camel Productions—Alto – Portage Place

Right out the gate this felt like a passion project of the director. The actors were stiff, the story wrote itself, and when I heard the first like I thought to myself- thank god this is 45 minutes. Reading letters aloud in a performance can be risky, and when your show is almost nothing but reading letters aloud pulling it off is hard. The cast was large, and some roles felt extraneous. Loosen up, have some fun with it, and this show would have a much stronger presence.

Arden Pruden

Wait, So Do I Make Out With A Pan?

Buried Seeds Productions—Planetarium

A woman in her mid twenties grappling with her sexuality for the first time, finding confusing information and deciding to provide the answer herself. The show features some good jokes and good information, though sometimes the jokes didn’t end up landing. The emotional confusion of not understanding your own feeling was quite well done. Overall, a worthwhile show to see, especially for those questioning whether they’re not as straight as they thought they were. Be aware, the show is closer to 35 minutes than the listed 45.

Josh Fidelak

Anna and the Substitute Teacher

rednotblue Productions—Alto – Portage Place

A lighthearted children’s tale about Anna, the nefarious substitute teacher, and her learning that autism doesn’t make her any less valuable than her classmates. Very informative about the autism spectrum, the show is chock full of jokes to keep the you target audience engaged. Importantly, there are enough jokes only adults would get to make sure everyone has fun, not just the kids. Very well produced, and a definite must see for anyone looking for a fantastic kids show.

Josh Fidelak

Lip Service

Pulsive Party—The Rachel Browne Theatre

These two sure know how to rev-up a crowd! This high energy variety uses song, dance and jokes to give prominence to genitalia. Results usually end with roaring laughter from the audience. I found the dance skits a bit long and belaboured. The jokes, songs and gags are often hilarious. I would rather see more of that than see them do a hundred burpees.

Ray Yuen

Am I Blue

Elizabeth Blue—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film (U of W)

New age self help, plans for world spanning book writing adventures and business plans powered by unrelated stock photos abound in this journey to become a better person. Full of awkward humor and second hand embarrassment to a truly amazing degree, a lot of the segments truly manage to stick with you. Some don’t, but the pace of the show quickly moves onto someone more your cup of tea. An experience any who are familiar with the absurd side of self help, new age or otherwise, will enjoy.

Josh Fidelak