The Merkin Sisters
Joff Schmidt | CBC News | Posted: July 23, 2017 3:45 PM | Last Updated: July 23, 2017
Hilarious show defies easy description, and also defies audience expectations
NOTE: This show was reviewed at the 2017 Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
Rating: ★★★★
"Some people ask us why we do what we do. And what it is we do do," say the Merkin sisters.
Indeed, this show defies easy description, and also defies audience expectation at every turn, with often-hilarious results.
The duo of Ingrid Hansen and Stéphanie Morin-Robert play sisters who explore the nature of art through a series of sketch-like bits that range from an outrageous birth scene to a look at the reproductive cycle of hairballs to singing genitalia.
And yes, there are merkins (pubic wigs, in case you weren't sure), and they're put to pretty funny use too.
It's all fairly twisted and often outright bizarre, but also tremendously entertaining. - Joff Schmidt
It won't be everyone's cup of tea, and at just over an hour, it probably runs slightly longer than it should.
It's also all fairly twisted and often outright bizarre, but also tremendously entertaining. Hansen and Morin-Robert are exceptional comedians, fearlessly committing to their weirdly intense characters and selling every bit with conviction.
Whatever The Merkin Sisters is doing, it sure is funny.