Zillah Ferguson

Published Work

Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: $20 Sandwich Ruins Your Childhood — Parton and Pearl

Raw and unfiltered, $20 Sandwich Ruins Your Childhood is a personalized show that amusingly and endearingly puts an audience member in the hot seat by looking back at their childhood, and then humorously turning it on its head. Crafted interview-style, the four members of the eponymously named $20 Sandwich – Brennan Asbridge, Antony Hall, Shaun Hunter and Chase Jeffels – take turns asking a volunteer from the crowd questions that they in turn use as the basis for a one-of-a-kind improv show that...
Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: Mirv-"ish": An Improvised Musical — Parton and Pearl

What do you get when you mix improv, live music and an audience member’s suggestion?The result is “An Improvised Musical” by comedy troupe Mirv – “ish”, made up of comedians Austin Anonsen, Mark Brown, Janek Gonsalkorale, Kara Harun, Victoria Kucher, Janelle McGuiness, Kendal Savage, and Rachel Sellan, coached by This Hour Has 22 Minutes writer and The Second City alum Ashley Botting. Sans script and sheet music, the members of Mirv –“ish”, adeptly craft the musical as it unfolds, successfully u...
Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: Childhood by Cheap Wine — Parton and Pearl

From the moment one enters VideoCabaret’s Deanne Taylor Theatre, they are immediately transported into an immersive experience. With the stage positioned in the centre (aka in the round), an anticipatory crowd seated around it on all four sides, the arena theatre setup allowed for a more intimate, hard-hitting and seriously hilarious experience. Billed as a friendly family troupe, but certainly not a family-friendly, Childhood by Cheap Wine is an uproariously stellar show that is rotating parts...
Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: The Rhinoceros Collective — Parton and Pearl

Prepare to be bowled over by sketch comedy troupe The Rhinoceros Collective at this  year’s Toronto Fringe Festival! Consisting of six members – Frank Behar, Chelsey Bowler,  James Goldman, Spencer Pearson, Becca Robitaille and Le Truong – the group bring an  electric energy to the stage in a 59-minute sketch show that is both delightfully silly and smart. Made up of three segments with three specific audiences in mind (that on paper appear to have no real connection): cavemen, chess and the Ill...
Parton and Pearl •

Ava Val is So Brave

Choosing to record a comedy special may seem daunting enough, and conceivably, it is - especially so for those who go hard with video in addition to an audio version. How about upping the ante by adding a third medium of animation to the mix? That’s just what Ava Val did for her debut comedy special So Brave that premiered this summer. Inspired by and playing off of what well-meaning, but tone-deaf strangers will tell her, entitling this special So Brave is emblematic of what Val has been doing...
Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: Crosstown

It’s not every day that one gets to experience a one-man show where every character is fully fledged out and palpable, but that is just one of the many wonderful things about the strong performance Anand Rajaram gave in Crosstown. An adaptation of the novel Crosstown by Richard Scrimger, the eponymously named show made its world premiere on July 5th at the Tarragon Theatre. The play, set in Toronto, features a plethora of characters ranging in ages, genders and accents (West Indian, German and S...
Parton and Pearl •

Comedy Night at the Toronto Fringe

The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival and in 2024 there were 77 shows performed in 16 venues around Toronto. While the shows are tickets (how great that the money made from ticket sales go directly to the artists!), there are a number of free events that occur throughout the duration of the festival at the Fringe Patio.One such event was Stand Up Comedy Night that took place on July 6 at the Tranzac, in the always lively Annex. The show, hosted with ease by Ben Sosa-Wright, g...
Parton and Pearl •

Toronto Fringe Review: 1 Santosh Santosh 2 Go: Tosh Finds His Groove

1 Santosh Santosh 2 Go: Tosh Finds His Groove, created by and starring the very entertaining Srutika Sabu is a must see! This 55 minute show – that felt more like a quick, live episode of a wonderfully wacky sitcom – made its Toronto Fringe Festival debut on July 5 and runs until July 14.The sheer physical comedy in Sabu’s facial expressions and body movements had the audience in hysterics from the moment she appeared on stage, dancing to the hit Tamil song, “Rowdy Baby”. Without saying a word –...
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Bonez Poley, Inflammable Material

Most debut albums exist in a singular form of an audio recording. Bonez Poley, however, decided to give their audience a treat and release the usual in addition to a video special. Poley recorded the special at Comedy Bar West on their birthday this past May, taking the stage to the sound of their metal band Pisser, Poley’s voice ringing clear alongside a wailing guitar. In the video special, the viewer sees Poley stoking a fire that soon settles, its embers smouldering as they pick up their not
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Gabe Koury, Mommy, I'm Boring

Recorded in Toronto at The Dock Ellis, comedian and artist Gabe Koury has released Mommy, I’m Boring, a culmination of almost a decade in comedy. This marked Koury’s fourth attempt at recording an album, and varying from the usual adage and expression, the fourth time proved to be a charm.

Koury covers and addresses a variety of outwardly arbitrary topics in Mommy, I’m Boring from toast public relations (how could it possibly be on the same level as pancakes and waffles?), asshole checks, passp
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Atheer Yacoub, Denied Entry

Denied Entry is the debut album from Brooklyn-based comedian and writer Atheer Yacoub, and it comes as a surprise that it’s her first album, because this premiere is reminiscent of, and can easily stand alongside, albums from well-seasoned comics.

Perhaps it’s the ease with which Yacoub seamlessly weaves through the stories of her life (from growing up an Arab Muslim in Alabama to her present adult years), completely engrossing the audience, taking them from a passive position of hearing her st
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Everardo Ramirez, Goodbye Horses

Everardo Ramirez marks ten years of being a comedian with the release of Goodbye Horses. It is a debut album that has a very authentic and relaxed feel to it, enabling Ramirez to take the listener on an amusing 32-minute laugh-filled journey. He covers a variety of every day ordinary topics (and others more obscure), while tapping into a universal humour that has the live audience chuckling away, and will surely have listeners at home doing the same.
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Myles Morrison, You Better Be Funny

Myles Morrison’s You Better Be Funny is a 30-minute album that outlines the various situations Morrison observed and found himself in during the pandemic and beyond. While many may not have had a good time during the pandemic and subsequent quarantine, Morrison would gladly do it every year (that is, only if people didn’t get sick – he’s not a monster!).

Morrison highlights the audience’s shared comical experiences of life during and after the pandemic, reminding us of some of the inane realiti
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Dakota Ray Hebert, I'll Give You An Indian Act

“Well, I hope I’m funny! That’d be cool, right?” This is how Dakota Ray Hebert addresses and welcomes her waiting audience, and I can confidently say that she is funny and then some. Hebert’s debut album, I’ll Give You an Indian Act fits so much into its 30 minutes of material. Not only does it have barrels of laughter, but it surprises with its astute and hilarious observations, historical facts and ability to paint an entertaining scene.

Hebert has a uniquely funny way of ridiculing (complete
The Interrobang •

Talking Inter-Dan-Mensional with Dan Galea and Scott Thompson

On the precipice of the release of his debut album, Inter-Dan-Mensional, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Galea and Scott Thompson, executive producer and contributor on the album. Spanning across 19 tracks, Inter-Dan-Mensional takes its listeners on a musical and comedy journey of Galea’s life, traveling through various dimensions of self, having contagious fun along the way. It starts off very appropriately for a Canadian with Galea introducing himself and thanking all those for listening to the album. He sets the scene, letting his audience know that we are about to, “Experience multiple Dans from multiple Dan-mensions.”
Parton and Pearl •

The Very Late TO Sketch Comedy Fest 2023 Review (4 Reviews in 1!)

West 2 West are a duo that consists of Kenneth Cheung and Chase Jeffels, but their energy is that of at least double the amount of people, happily bouncing around on stage. They started their half hour show, center stage, donning beanie caps, the entire room pitch black – save for the spotlight on them – as they deliberated between one another on how to start the show. The synchronicity in their body movements and their call and response in the first act mimicked twin dialogue.
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Ana-Marija Stojic, In My Head

The potpourri of overlaying intrusive thoughts that start off Ana-Marija Stojic’s In My Head may be familiar to many a listener. It’s apropos to the title of the album, as the audience is invited inside of Stojic’s head, complete with the many layered thoughts that float around in it.

This album is a unique blend of stand-up comedy, music played by Stojic on ukelele and keyboard, and live sketches (complete with voiceovers), all of which make a larger and humorous commentary about various aspec
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Ryan Williams, Manual Labour of Love

Sitting at a whopping 1 hour and 16 minutes, Ryan Williams’ debut album Manual Labour of Love is a feel-good overview of Williams’ life during the pandemic, interspersed with moments over the preceding and ensuing years.

Some discouraged Williams from talking about COVID and its never-ending lockdowns, but it’s a good thing he didn’t pay heed to their concerns because the laughs this album gives are undeniable. Of course, Williams doesn't just cover those infamous COVID years, but he also goes
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Lucy Gervais, Negative Space

Clocking in just shy of 21 minutes, Negative Space by Lucy Gervais is a light-hearted and delightfully raunchy album, where one cannot help but laugh along as Gervais gives some insight into who they are.

For the record, Gervais is related to who you’re thinking of, but he prefers to be called Richard, not Ricky. “Ricky Gervais” opens the album, both addressing the oft-asked question and giving listeners an introduction to Gervais (the former, not the latter). “High Standards” – the track that
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Amanda Rheaume, The Spaces In Between

The Spaces In Between by Amanda Rheaume is an honest, introspective, exploration of identity, unfolding across thirteen blended folk and rock songs that tell an important story. Interwoven throughout the album are four interludes in which Métis rights leader and activist Tony Belcourt provides history of who the Métis peoples are, the attempted erasure of their history through repeated injustices and deep-rooted discrimination at the hands of the Canadian government, and its effects still seen
Parton and Pearl •

Album Review: Salma Hindy, Born on 9/11

As the title of Salma Hindy’s debut album, Born On 9/11 suggests, Hindy was indeed born on the infamous date of September 11th. The album features 13 tracks, the final one “9/11” delving into the comical happenstance that is her birthday.

Hindy’s relaying of events – so funny they could be scripted – thankfully feel less like a traditional joke setup, and more reminiscent of a juicy conversation one has happily happened to stumble upon. Wittingly and with effortless flair, she plays with the au