Don Valley Girls Lighten the Load
by pk mutch, July 2022
We could all use a laugh or two right now! Good thing Toronto’s Don Valley Girls emerging sketch comedy troupe delivers laughs and more. Their first show, “Not Your Aunties’s Sketch Show,” is relatable and hilarious, and a delivers a biting commentary on our collective journey towards a more inclusive world.
Wanting it is easy. Getting there? Full of confusion, missteps and bum cracks to trip over. (You have to see the show to understand those references).
Producer and film production entrepreneur Rabiya Mansoor says, “We’re a mashup of Somali/Korean/Palestinian/Pakistani/Canadian perspectives from women and non-binary folks, and boy, our sketches don’t hold back any punches.”
Mansoor started the troupe because “I feel our (BIPOC) voices are often just diversity checkmarks and we aren’t able to really share our true comedy because it’s always filtered through the white gaze. We thought, why not just make the kind of comedy we want to make”.
If you are looking to take some weight off your post Roe v. Wade shoulders, this group has both the lock and key.
Don Valley Girls performed last at the Toronto Fringe (Crowsnest Theatre) from July 6–17, 2022
