The UC Follies Sketch Troupe capped off their 2015-2016 season with a sold out performance in the renowned Second City Theatre in downtown Toronto. Second City is known as a cornerstone of the Toronto improv world, having launched the careers of John Candy, Mike Myers, and Eugene Levy. Their show, entitled We Miss you Lorne Michaels, paid homage to UC Follies alumnus Lorne Michaels, co-creator of Saturday Night Live. With a show so connected to Toronto greats, how well would UC Follies Sketch hold up among these titans of the comedy world?
I would be remiss if I did not briefly mention the opening act for the show, which was our very own Victoria College sketch troupe, The Bob. Beginning with a hilarious opening monologue from co-director Greg Martin comparing and contrasting the two troupes, they then presented some of their own sketches. While they provided some laughs based on the outrageous situations the actors found themselves in, this was just a small sampling of the night to come.
The main show opened with a sketch featuring UC Follies’s head co-writers, Celeste Yim and Kelly de Hoop, discovering a time machine and exploring the past. Unfortunately, due to their ethnicity and gender, they didn’t get very far into history. The sketch was hilarious from the get-go, and set the tone for a show that was not afraid to take risks with its content and stylistic choices.
What I liked so much about the show was how the sketches took a variety of forms. There were more straightforward sketches based on situational comedy, with well-timed punchlines. There was some political satire, with actor John Richardson making an appearance as Bernie Sanders at a teenager’s house party. The troupe had some more absurd moments, with director Lucas Loizou periodically coming on stage to have mental breakdowns to cheerful pop music. Even with such an array of sketches the show still came together nicely, feeling well-paced and never overworking the material. And, save for one very strange sketch about pornography in the children’s book publishing industry, I found all the sketches to be incredibly funny. To cap off the night, the cast sang a song about the rich and historic culture of the “bro” throughout the ages.
All in all, the show was wonderfully constructed from beginning to end. All of the actors played their parts brilliantly, with everyone receiving their own moment to take the spotlight, and they were able to effectively play a spectrum of characters—the more outlandish the better. You could really feel the bond and trust the cast had with one another as they performed onstage, which definitely added to the humour in some of the more off-script moments. UC Follies Sketch Troupe were also able to play on certain social issues and bring light to them humorously, without totally demeaning them. Unfortunately, as this is their last show of the season, there will be no more opportunities to catch them this year, but I would highly recommend attending shows if you get the opportunity in the future.
