If being delusional is this much fun then no one should ever do therapy again. Six young comedians ban together as The Delusionists in Everything that Ever Happened, Ever in some of the funniest sketch comedy I’ve seen in awhile.
Our host for the evening, think a young jocular Einstein in tight beige leather pants, first introduces the show via a film projector and then abseils onto the stage. The host promises that the show will landmark every notable historical event in time. Okay, probably not everything, ever, but this crew of young, vibrant comedians manages to squeeze a myriad of historical figures and moments into a montage of the past meets the modern day world.
The first sketch about turning back the clocks for daylight savings exemplifies the Delusionists’ writing and performing talents; it demonstrates perfect timing, both in performance skill and comedy writing, and a stalwart understanding of the absurd. Without giving too much away, some of the highlights of the show are: Jesus on a date, Nostradamus and his, sometimes, unwanted predictions, Dr Seuss in Sam I Am, and Bach the rock star.
It’s pure joy to see performers comfortable in character. Each performer carried off the appropriate accents and nuances of character with ease which just adds to the comedy elements that inherently make a sketch piece work or not.
As a whole entity, this show felt, at times, uneven. One of the issues of sketch comedy is how to frame it. Our host for the evening seems a little incongruent with the sketch pieces as his language, although eloquent and clever, is loquacious and too floral for the other comedy pieces. As far as the sketches themselves go, when they didn’t quite register with the audience, you had the feeling that it’s just a matter of time until these talented comedians get it right.
Overall, this show demonstrates some formidable talent. It’s rare to have a smile on your face for the entirety of a show. At a pinnacle moment, I just remember thinking: someone, please, give The Delusionists a TV show!
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details