Toronto Fringe Review: You Can Do It, Put Your Mask Into It!

Every now and then there is a comedy show at the Toronto Fringe that should be picked up to fill the sucking void in Canadian comedy television. This year, the company Potato Potato with their satire You Can Do It, Put Your Mask Into It! is the show that should go down in the annals of Fringe success stories like Kim’s Convenience but with a happier, less racist culture for the artists. 

From start to finish, this cast delivers consistently clever jokes while they tackle the pandemic, the environment, politics, and xenophobia with deftness. Their weapon of choice is parody; using an old school folk favourite like “This Land is Your Land”, 50 Shades of Grey, and other less expected fodder to lampoon current issues faced by the majority of Canadians AKA the people who aren’t the conservative fantasy of who and what “old stock Canadians” are. 

Unlike many shows, their concept is fully developed, the performers are comfortable in front of a camera, and know how to work with a low budget to create a well polished, perfectly paced sketch show complete with running jokes, callbacks, and cinematic references. The creeping menace of Doug Ford is truly a thing of Tim Hortons gorging beauty. 

As it’s not terribly likely that the CBC or Netflix etc will do this nation a kindness and pick this team up and let their imaginations run wild, do yourself a favour and see You Can Do It, Put Your Mask Into It! and have a laugh at the existential dread and absurdity the past year and a half have gifted us all.

You Can Do It, Put Your Mask Into It! is part of the Digital Toronto Fringe Festival July 21 - 31, 2021.
Find tickets and show info here.