Hart House Theatre was host to some of Toronto’s most talented sketch comedians as they performed Wayne & Shuster Live! Directed by Paul Bates, this limited engagement performance brought some of the legendary comedians most beloved sketches to life. Though some of these sketches are 80 years old, there still rings a beautiful truth to them, making this incredible comedy duo a classic.

Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo whose careers span over 40 years. As mentioned during the show, they hold the record for the most appearances on the Ed Sullivan show. They did everything from radio to television, bringing joy and laughter into the homes of Canadians for generations. What makes their comedy so funny, even today, is that it’s situational rather than being topical; it gives the pieces a staying power that some comedy simply doesn’t have. To have some of the most hysterical comedians in the city give a new life to these pieces made Wayne & Shuster Live! a real treat! What made it extra special was that they had the help of the heirs of Wayne and Shuster: Michael, Brian and Jamie Wayne and Rosie Shuster. Their love for their fathers is felt in every moment.

There were a few bits which really stood out to me. One of them featured shameless product placements throughout the bit; we see this in basically every YouTube video, and yet it’s just as funny when it’s fake products for 1950’s housewives. The Investigation of Julius Caesar’s death was to die for! The bit about how to pronounce spanakopita was hysterical, and I always love some audience involvement! But of course, the one everyone was waiting for was the Shakespearean Baseball game. Dressed in their Stratford uniforms, the whole bit is done by slightly modifying (and I mean only very slightly) lines from Shakespeare to tell the story of a baseball game. I think I actually might have missed jokes because I was laughing so hard at the one before! This is exactly my kind of witty, smart humour and you could tell that it was an audience favourite as well.

Playing the three sets of Wayne and Shusters were Matt Baram, Aurora Browne, Leigh Cameron, Bren Eastcott,Oliver Georgiou and Darryl Hinds. This production was a truly ensemble cast with sometimes one or two actors on stage for a sketch and sometimes all of them being involved at the same time. You could tell how much fun the cast was having bringing these classic comedy bits to life; the joy radiated from every moment of the performance. And to see so many familiar faces all on one stage made it a delight. They alternated between stories of the history of the famous duo and then doing the sketches themselves, allowing the show to be accessible for long-time fans and newcomers alike.

I’d love to see a revival of Wayne & Shuster Live! done in the future. I think this is a brilliant way to experience a part of Canada’s comedic history with some of the best talent our modern stages has to offer. For more information about Bygone Theatre and what they have coming up next, visit: https://www.bygonetheatre.com