Potato, Potato is a pretty well known Toronto sketch comedy group consisting of Daniel Bagg, Callan Forrester, Rami Khan (not appearing in this show on account of becoming successful or being abducted by aliens), Ashlyn Kusch, Erika Rogstad, Lizzie Song and they are good at what they do; a blend of Canadian political satire and sex. For PPStW they create a kind of wrapper for their (more or less) standard show that’s funny in its own right and makes the whole thing just a bit more than seeing the group at a comedy club.

So here’s the schtick. Aliens from the planet Otnorot want the Earth’s water (you can guess why but the big reveal comes later). Earth has the right to appeal to the Intergalactic Council but the procedure there is trial by comedy. Each side presents a five minute sketch and the funniest wins. Unfortunately all the world’s comedians have been abducted by aliens except for Potato, Potato less their star member who now has a Netflix show. So saving the earth falls to the gang.

After much to-ing and fro-ing and angsting they decide the best bet is to do what they always do so we get a pretty slick set of skits; Doug Ford singing about only wanting to be mayor of Toronto, reasons Conservatives can now join Mark Carneys Liberals (?), oral sex on a first date, Ontario place redevelopment, AI movies, federal vs provincial jurisdiction (no elephants) and much more. They are not fond of Conservatives with a big “C” or a big “L”. In the final showdown Otnorot are revealed to have cheated as they did in destroying 50 other planets. They lose the case, are fined $50,000 and sentenced to 50 hours community service. The courts must demonstrate that even the rich and powerful can be held to account!

It’s fast and fun and genuinely funny and raunchy and it has the best Land Acknowledgement I’ve heard in ages. Riffing off the theme of the show it points out how many First Nations communities are still under drinking water advisories and notes that Mark Carney has removed the right to clean drinking water from the appropriate legislation. I expect though that every such community will get it’s own oil pipeline.

Potato, Potato Saves the World (?) is playing in the cabaret space at the Young Centre until July 11th.

Photo credit: Emelia Hellman Photography