Collaborative Comedy
Created by Michael Lifshitz
Produced by Illumabilities (Ottawa, Canada)
60M | Comedy
Content Notes: ASL Interpretation, Mature Language, Sexual Content, Audience Participation, Mental Health Topics, Sensory Friendly, Described Performance
By Erin Murray
I have to admit, I was apprehensive when I first sat down for this show. As any regular Fringe-goer knows, a totally improvised show is high-risk, high-reward. If the performers don’t have the chops to carry it off, the result can be Fringe-cringe.
Comedian Michael Lifshitz hosts Collaborative Comedy, a show where stand-up comedians are tasked to improvise jokes based on audience-suggested topics. A different group of comedians takes the stage for each performance to spend an hour telling their best completely-made-up-on-the-spot jokes on whatever topic Lifshitz pulls out of the hat. Nothing revolutionary in the format there, and obviously it makes the show a bit of a grab bag.
Luckily, Lifshitz has recruited a talented crew of some of Ottawa’s favourite comics to take the stage with him. Opening night featured The Velvet Duke, Heather Hurst, and Lewis Hill, who gave the audience some fresh takes on big topics like artificial intelligence, the role of art in society, what it feels like going to bars after 40, and tomatoes.
The atmosphere was very casual and the energy of the show was laid back. The thing is, if you put three funny, clever, charismatic people in a room with a bowl of topics, they will tell entertaining stories and jokes together. It’s called a podcast. I would describe the experience as the comedy equivalent of a jam session: everybody riffing on a particular topic, trying out whatever jokes or stories come to their mind. True to its name, there was even some collaboration with the audience members, a couple of whom piped up to add their own jokes to the mix.
Overall, it was an enjoyable and entertaining hour. We had a couple of good laughs, but also a few moments where I was checking my watch. The lineup of comics is different on every night, and there are bound to be a few more shining moments for this stage.
Collaborative Comedy is playing at LabO until June 24, 2023. Visit ottawafringe.com/fringe/ for the schedule and box office info. Read more reviews at https://apt613.ca/category/festival/fringe/.
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