Toronto Fringe Review: 2-MAN NO-SHOW: Balls Out!

Have you ever been watching an improv show and wished that you could make the performers do something else? 2-Man No-Show: Balls Out! puts that power directly in your hands.

As the audience enters, they are given two balls. If at any point during the show you want the scene to change, simply throw a ball at performers Isaac Kessler and Ken Hall (or even the musician Gordon Neill). Be warned though, because whoever threw the ball may be asked for a suggestion of what they should do instead. This is also not a good show to be late to if you prefer to sneak in quietly – latecomers are welcome, but the performers will talk to you, and maybe even rope you into a faux-Irish dancing number.

Speaking of which, I’m genuinely curious as to whether the Irish dancing that happens at the beginning of the show would just continue forever if no one from the audience threw a ball. Alas, I’ll never know, as a ball was thrown, and we moved onto other improv scenes.

The thing about throwing the ball, is that it doesn’t just prompt the performers to change what they’re doing in the scene, which is what I had originally imagined. It completely stops the scene. The lights flash red and Kessler and Hall turn to the audience to find out who threw the ball and what they didn’t like about the scene. While being very funny, I felt a little disappointed that things kept stopping and starting, especially if I had been enjoying the scene. I also don’t think the audience was always prepared to give a new suggestion.

On the other hand, every show will be quite different, depending on the audience, how often they throw balls, and what they suggest to do next. The audience I was in kept telling them to make it “sexier”, for example.

While I would have liked to see fuller improv scenes, I really liked the conversational and playful ways Kessler and Hall engaged with the audience throughout the show. They’re both hilarious performers, so no matter how many balls get thrown and scenes interrupted, it will definitely be a show worth seeing.

2-MAN NO-SHOW: Balls Out! is on now until July 12 at the Toronto Fringe. Show times and tickets