Sketchfest: Feminist Bros and Viagra Addictions

DéPFLIES Party. Theatre St. Catherine. Photo Claudel Lachapelle. Theatre Sainte Chatherine. Photo Claudel Lachapelle.

Sketchfest is a festival that really does all the work for you; you really just have to show up. It’s the perfect place to be on a weekday night, and the fifteen minute segments are optimal for an attention-deficit audience burnt out by a long day.

Beans on Toast are a new troupe, and they are one to watch out for in the future. Their feminist bro sketch was a great palate cleanser from the usual misogynistic crap that comedy lovers are subjected to. Painful Suppuku was also very cute. What was great about these guys was that the actual acting was very strong, and they were a delight to watch, very funny.

The Tropic of Capricorn are also a newer troupe… and it kind of shows. While the accent work was very well done in the sketches, and the sketches were of a snappy length, the actual comedy plays it a bit safe. There is, however, some solid bedrock in this team, and I look forward to seeing them evolve over time.

Grumpy Old Men was soon to follow. This was a really fun act. The two-man team perform a mini-play about two older gentlemen that fly over to California to collect their big prize from HO-AX Enterprises. The characters were vivid and fleshed out, and the story was hokey, but in a good way. Never have I been so horrified by the mental image of a two-day erection. Keep an eye out for these guys.

The Priesty Boyz were their usual silly, energetic selves. I can say that after seeing these guys do this bit over the past few years, it never gets old. It has, however, gotten a lot tighter, and they consistently deliver with their ridiculous religious-themed rap songs. My only complaint is that I find getting to the crowd to scream about pounding pussy is a little tired. It bothers me when people on a stage speak about pussy as a passive receptacle for penises because it ignores any agency that the person behind that pussy may have, and reduces the woman involved to the receiving end of a fleshlight. I would really love for them to have a think about as they develop future material, because these guys are talented and smart, and I can’t wait to see them again as these characters.

Math, Science and the Humanities from New York were okay. Maybe it was the regional differences, but I found them kind of middling. I guess I don’t understand the culture of stoops or the emotional appeal of football.

Get Off the Stage closed the night with a lot of silliness involving charades, colonizing mars (1-line, 30 seconds of brilliance) and a really hilarious sketch about lawyers day drinking like sloppy toddlers. These guys are veterans, they know how to do this, and they were hilarious as usual.

Sketchfest continues until May 30. Click here for more information.