Ottawa Fringe:ExDEMONators will make you wish there were more demons around for this bunch to exterminate

 

 

Ghosts are totally a myth, of course, but demons—well those are 100% real and getting ready to plunge a small Ontario town into the apocalypse. That is, if the EXDEMONators don’t manage to save the day. If only their demon blasters were as powerful as their comedy is funny they’d be able to take on any Level 30 demon no problem.

From Ottawa’s Leaping Mammal Collective, ExDEMONators brings to the stage three demon hunters who might be better off just switching into comedy full-time. Already the laughingstock of the town, the trio have to fight demons and fight for recognition in a town that doesn’t really want them around.

A lot of the comedy works by playing off the trio’s strong personalities. Steph Goodwin plays the academic Mary-Lynne, who dreamed of pursuing a PhD in all things demonic before being laughed out of her university. Mary-Lynne approaches everything like the academic she is, in one funny scene taking field notes instead of helping her co-worker who’s being eaten by a demon. Carley Richards plays the classic cool bad-girl Evelyn whose entirely personality revolves around being edgy, while the eager newbie Shane is played by Emma Hickey. Gabriella Gadsby and Mike Kosowan serve as the demon puppeteers. The trio work off each other in bits of physical comedy and quick-fire jokes, while the puppeteers even have a few chances to get some laughs.

The puppets add to the hilarity. Mostly consisting of squid-like creatures flying around the room, the show leans heavily into the kind of self-aware “ignore the puppeteer this is a very legit puppet” humour that makes Fringe shows so great. The puppeteers aren’t just stage-hands but serve alongside the three leads in making this a great comedy.

ExDEMONators is a great comedy that had the audience laughing from the first scene to the last. It makes sense it was the first sell-out of this year’s Fringe. Driven by self-conscious puppetry, riffs on horror and comedy-horror pop culture, and the three powerful and funny personalities of Hickey, Richards, and Goodwin, the show makes you wish that there were at least a few more demons around the city for this comedic bunch to exterminate.