OUR EXES ARE DEAD: VOL. 1 by the company (Our Exes Are Dead/Digital Toronto Fringe). Streaming now at Fringe On-Demand until August 15. Rating: NNNN
Sketch comics Rachelle Mazzilli and Maggie Chafe’s short Fringe show Our Exes Are Dead: Vol. 1 gives you a terrific sense of their talent, range and sensibility.
Like the best comics, the 20-something pair have a strong point of view and illustrate it with specific details. In the opening sketch, they play best friends who realize they’re very different people while ordering a particular item on a restaurant menu. The way they set up and resolve this conflict is efficient, dramatic and full of memorable physical gestures.
In another sketch sure to be popular with Fringe-goers, the two take the art of being stage hands to ludicrous extremes, complete with black clothing, balletic gestures and unsubtle subtlety.
A sketch about a woman working with a criminal sketch artist to describe her attacker is absurd but followed through with total logic, making this send-up of a cliché police procedural scene even funnier.
A key to their humour comes in their parody ad for a Nathan Fielder Dating App. Their distinct characters and minor details – including one about an abandoned emotional support animal – all pay off.
Unlike many Fringe entries, each scene – including the funny end credits sequence – is carefully shot, with clear sound and sharp editing. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
