Toronto Fringe Review: Critically Acclaimed Superhero Movie

Jessalyn Ferguson and Jimmer Lowe. Photo by Liam Richards

Are you interested in improv? The kind that keeps you laughing with such vigor that every time you sit back in your chair another punchline shoots you to the edge of your seat? Where you cackle at the deadpan answers, the physical dynamics, and the verbal labyrinth that was determined on the spot? Then you should see SiriuslyZiggy Productions’ Critically Acclaimed Superhero Movie.

Based on the fundamentals of a classic superhero film – the protagonist with the tragic backstory, the evil villain, the emotionally-involved citizen – the performers Jessalyn Ferguson and Jimmer Lowe, and stage manager Erica Charles, let the audience decide what drives the plot. You could choose the name of the movie, power of the superhero, and job of the citizen via a QR code survey. Improvisation then ensues but never misses a beat in creating a beginning, middle, and end.

Although this is an improv show, every moment seemed prepared to a T. Each scene ended at its peak, so no lagging occurred, and the attention to detail with technical elements was brilliant. Lights shifted concurrently to the storyline, and the killer soundtrack made no missteps in its timely playing of One Direction and Lowe’s own rendition of Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. 

Wordplay is a close friend to this pair, while hesitation is an enemy that strays. Amplifying the other’s statements in partnered soliloquies and bouncing off the dialogue like a trampoline with fresh springs, chemistry magnetizes the two for an electric result. 

With a microphone and coat rack covered in quick-change costumes, Ferguson and Lowe create an impressive roster of characters. You could say they wear a multitude of hats, both figuratively and literally. Together, they make this minimalistic set feel like a fully furnished home with the comedic comfort they billow throughout the venue. 

Critically Acclaimed Superhero Movie is on now until July 17 as part of the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Find show times and tickets here.