Assaulted Fish: Sacred and Profane - More Like Random and Ridiculous

Genre Definition = Funny · Weird · Intellectual

Personal taste aside, this troupe does have a lot going for them. Quick disclaimer: sketch comedy isn’t my specialty. A complete lack of structure just seems pointless to me and I don’t share the love of cringe and shock humour that most Vancouverites seem to have. 

In my opinion, the bulk of the sketches were random and ridiculous and some just plain tasteless but there were a few I actually enjoyed, like the 9 - 5 office worker scene and the Tony Teriyaki sketch. I did appreciate how imaginative some of the sketches were and that the bulk of the content was relevant to the Vancouver community.

I can also always appreciate professionalism and technique. The first two sketches were a bit shaky on delivery but as the show progressed the performers really got into their bodies. Characters were clearly defined, timing was (mostly) spot-on, transitions were slick, the range of genre and character was diverse, energy was full (most of the time), character voices were great although vocal support and general diction needs some work.

Structurally I would have liked some common thread throughout the content just to tie the show together and provide some context for the material. Performance-wise I think there were a few sketches that could be tightened up that last little a bit to bring them up to the level exhibited in the rest of the show. The comedy really wasn’t for me, but the rest of the audience was laughing uproariously, so there you go.

By Danielle Benzon
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