Walking into this year’s production of The Bob at Isabel Bader Theatre, I was greeted with a pre-show that featured recorded jazz music and KoLOLas, a down-under takeoff of the infamous LOLCatz. Cute jokes coupled with cute photos ensured laughter in the half-filled theatre even before the lights dimmed. The group behind me started taking bets on the nature of jokes that would be made throughout the evening. I was already hopeful that this was going to be a good night.
The comedy troupe behind The Bob, Victoria College’s annual sketch comedy show, rehearsed for two months to prepare their eclectic, at times shamelessly random selection of sketches. This year’s production was directed by Brandon Hackett and assistant directed by Chris Berube, two veterans of the show.
The title of the production, The All-Knowing Bob, bore little relation to most of the 20 sketches, but did allow for an opening song that effectively smothered the humour of the preshow. Neither overly funny nor catchy, the tune featured a pitchy performance by the cast who missed at least one cue. Multiple members of the cast also experienced projection issues and were difficult to hear even for those seated in the middle of the theatre.
Laughter thankfully returned to Bader with the next sketch, “Snack Attack,” which satirized CBC Kids’ programming and involved a dishevelled Chris Berube screaming to a MIDI version of “Back in Black” as he bounced around the theatre. One of the funniest moments of the night, it helped the show recover from a shaky beginning.
No subject was spared as the sketches unfolded: beauty pageants, rural Ontario, and even David Naylor were targeted throughout the evening. The show was not afraid to take risks, occasionally pushing the envelope with jokes verging on offensive. In the second sketch of the evening, about a time machine, one actor commented that they went back in time and “punched Hitler in the face, but it just made him hate the Jews more.” The show also saw jokes about bulimia and the intolerance of same-sex marriage in beauty pageants.
The humour was still tame compared to the jokes popular at Yuk Yuks or Second City, and some jokes proved cringeworthy because of poor timing or for posing too stark a contrast to the bubblegum “university” jokes that dominated the show’s two hours. Still, it was refreshing to see the group challenge the U of T audience with humour that occasionally fell outside the bounds of political correctness.
Some of the highest points of hilarity in the show were the “bloopers.” The second sketch, “Time Machine,” saw the accidental knocking over and subsequent exploding of a beer bottle. “Theodore Pervert” in the second Act saw the accidental shattering of a wine glass over the stage.
Particular congratulations must by awarded to first-time Bob participant Kieron Higgs, a first-year student from Waterloo who has performed in the Sears Drama Festival and the Canadian Improv Games. Near the end of the first act, he energetically portrayed The Mad Hatter, one of the night’s most memorable characters—only to make a second appearance (to the crowd’s wild cheers)—near the end of the show.
The actor of the evening, though, was without a doubt Brandon Hackett. A Classics and English student planning to graduate in 2010, Hackett’s swan song with The Bob saw him assume the roles of Professor Henry Higgins; Roy, a racist virgin still living with his parents who makes an online dating video; and even a dinosaur doing stand-up comedy. After watching his portrayal of Tyra Banks, in which he donned a dress that revealed enough leg to put most girls at the Brunny to shame, it was unfortunate that the reserved audience did not give him a standing ovation.
When the show ended, the group behind me was upset—many of the jokes they had bet would occur did not make appearances. But my biggest regret regarding The Bob is that by the time you read this review, the show will have already closed. The Bob is unique on campus for its provision of sketch comedy that takes risks and is, for the most part, funny and enjoyable. Sure, the production was a little rough around the edges. But next year, I would encourage you to give Bob a chance.
