Review: Riot Sketch Comedy is a riot, as long as you aren’t their target

I’m not sure when Vancouver’s Riot Sketch Comedy show hit its stride. Maybe it was the nostalgic piano-playing woman serenading us from New York about mismatched Blundstone shoes at Vancouver house gatherings. Or maybe a bespectacled British royal-esque monarch, reciting to her scribe the ingenuity of her proposed Vancouver area names (there’s a north shore but no south shore).

Regardless, after a barrage of emails from founder Matt Clarke — kudos to him for his persistence — I found myself laughing at the Vancouver-ness of it all. 

Picture Riot as Vancouver’s answer to Saturday Night Live, a series of sketches, bits and a game, performed over slightly more than two hours, with a simple premise — the city we love deeply is, in fact, deeply flawed, and those flaws are worthy of recognition, ridicule and most importantly, a few laughs.

It’s a comedy show for the civically inclined. In that sense, it’s a perfect show for Lookout readers.

Satire has historically been an avenue for broader societal criticism. It always comes down to how much comedy versus criticism. But entertainers know that laughter comes first, followed by criticism, allowing the absurdity of the problem to be laid bare for all to see. 

Riot is made up of nine performers. Like any good team, there is give and take between each cast member, but it’s a rare group that, when you watch the show, it feels like each member enjoys grabbing a beer together afterwards. That bleeds over into building the sketches, with Matt over email, calling the entire joke process “really democratic.” 

It’s a testament to the writers and the performers at Riot that even the most biting commentary, including their feelings on Vancouver’s mayor, still made everyone laugh. It’s a team that closely follows the news and is unafraid to call bullshit when they see it. 

That’s not to say there weren’t some misses. The first sketch was a little rough around the edges. Certain bits dragged on a bit too long. Technical snafus (briefly) took people out of the show.

But as the show progressed, whether due to the performer's comfort level or the quality of writing, everything really clicked.

A Vancouver-specific cast musical performance, set to the musical score from Beauty and the Beast, ridiculed Vancouver style with clever callouts to Vessis and Arc'teryx, which had the entire venue clapping. Cast member Tomoyo Yamada, who was back for her first show after having a child, developed all the dance and choreography.

The beauty of the evening was in the variety, keeping everyone guessing. A trivia game, pairing groups with each cast member, upped the stakes by forcing the cast member who lost to run for mayor, vote-splitting be damned (which I’m sure will feature in a future show if current trends continue).

Art works best when it goes specific, emphasizing little details that make a place and its people colourful and vibrant. While sketch shows are not for everyone, there’s much to like about what the team at Riot has done, pairing deft social commentary with well-written and hilarious skits. 

If you care about civic issues, but need to take a break and laugh, then let the talented team at Riot take you on an absurd tour of our city.

You can catch Riot at Hero’s Welcome each month. Follow them on Instagram to find out info about their next show.