Toronto Fringe Review: 1-Man No-Show

Do you like sketches? Do you like high energy performers? Do you enjoy absurd and unexpected humour? Do you like audience participation? Do you like bananas? If you answered yes to any of these questions, don’t miss the Fringe Festival’s 1-MAN NO-SHOW at Crow’s Theatre.

1-MAN NO-SHOW (ZeekTech Productions) is more or less what it sounds like. It’s a solo comedy show starring Isaac Kessler that’s kind of about the meaning of art, maybe, among other things. What is art, anyways? Right?

Kessler has an incredibly engaging presence right off the bat. He starts his improv before the show, making small talk with the audience as the last few patrons trickle in. Throughout the show he asks the audience questions and responds to their reactions. He combines improv, clown, and bouffon, among other things, to produce a playful and exciting show.

The humour in the show can be very meta and absurd. There are lighting gags, giant bubblegum wads, a tangled headset microphone, inappropriate use of a Barbie, and more. Bananas are a recurring theme.

The audience participation ranges from low to high, with the highest level being part of the scene onstage. It is possible to enjoy this show with minimal participation if that’s not your thing, though maybe avoid sitting in the first few rows. 

Part of the fun of improv and audience participation is the unpredictability, sometimes for the performer as well. For example, in the show I watched, Kessler handed a piece of banana to an audience member and indicated that they should try to throw it in his mouth from a distance. Instead of doing that, the audience member got up and determinedly chased Kessler until they could put it in his mouth directly.

1-MAN NO-SHOW is delightfully strange and funny. You never know what will happen next.

1-MAN NO-SHOW is on now until July 16 as part of the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Find show times and tickets here.