Toronto Fringe Review: Sarah and Racquel Rule The World

Sarah and Racquel Rule the World, presented by Girl Loser Productions, is a fast-paced sketch revue starring Sarah Bennett and Racquel Belmonte, directed by Christian Smith. 

Bennett and Belmonte have excellent chemistry and comedic timing. It’s clear to me how much they enjoy working together, and it was a joy to see them bounce off each other throughout the show. 

One of the strongest elements of the revue is how it maintains consistency through callbacks and repetition (of characters and premises) without feeling gimmicky. The sketches generally revolve around reflections on gender, but they were still varied enough that the show didn’t feel like it was trying to strictly abide by a theme at the expense of creativity. Bennett and Belmonte (with Smith’s direction) maintained the challenging balance between chaos and control.  

Despite the show’s overall high energy, I felt that a few sketches dragged on for longer than needed. While they made effective use of repetition across the whole revue, some of the individual jokes weren’t terribly original (e.g., equating short hair with queerness, the overbearing mother-in-law trope, etc.) and were reiterated or repeated more than I think was warranted.  Nevertheless, there were still enough disarming punchlines that got a hearty laugh from me to make the overall experience quite enjoyable. 

Sarah and Racquel Rule the World is a revue that feels far more polished than others I’ve seen in the past, and the performers’ infectious energy make it a very fun watch. 

Sarah and Racquel Rule the World is on now until July 15 at part of the Toronto Fringe. Show times and tickets here.