Toronto Fringe Review: All of Our Parents Are Immigrants

Local troupe Affirmative Reaction brings their improv show All of Our Parents are Immigrants to Toronto Fringe. The scenes crafted by the performers explore the quirks of growing up with immigrant parents, an all-too familiar experience to many in Toronto. 

The show has a unique format in how the performers collect (and share) ideas for scenes. It starts with an interview with a special guest (in my case, Andrew Phung), and the troupe bases their first act of scenes on it. Prior to the show starting, audience members are invited to share short snippets of their upbringing. They are given three prompts to choose from: advice they received from their parents, family traditions, and family secrets. In the second half the performers read aloud some of the audience contributions and invite the special guest back on stage to bring those to life. 

The format of the show helped to break up the monotony of a full hour of just improv, and rather than creating wildly absurd premises, much of the humour was based on the mere absurdity of real life. 

The troupe consists of Alfred Chow, Shaun Hunter, and Amrutha Krishnan. The three performers seem to complement each other well – Chow being the most goofy and high energy, Hunter ensuring that they all stay on theme and manage their timing, and Krishnan coming up with some of the most biting one liners of the evening. When Phung joined the troupe, he fit in seamlessly, signaling the adeptness of all four performers. 

If you’d like to see some of your family’s stories and quirks played on stage, or if you’d just like to see some very solid improv, be sure to check this show out.

All of Our Parents are Immigrants is on now until July 14 as part of Toronto Fringe. Show times and tickets.