On July 22, the Queen’s Players opened their summer show, A Tinkle in Time: Smack That (Respectfully) to the Future—a #Resmelling of History, at the Ale Canteen.
The crowd quickly filled up the Canteen by 8 p.m. Each attendee was given a stamp upon entry, allowing them to come and go as they pleased. However, the room was packed for the show’s entire three-hour run.
Co-directors Emily Masson, ArtSci ’25, and Jean-Pierre Ingram, ConEd ’28, opened the night with a land acknowledgment, then got straight to business. They explained to audience members the distinctiveness of the summer show, then gave a rundown of the show to first timers.
“The summer show is unique in the fact that we have this implicit rule that we want every scene to have different characters,” Ingram said in an interview with The Journal.
Soon, the show was in full swing. Before any performances, the audience faced TV screens that displayed a pre-recorded introduction sequence to Madonna’s “Hung Up,” which perfectly introduced the time travel theme.
As the cast performed choreographed routines, the Players band, Cage the Infant, started their openers — a mash up of popular songs, starting with a rendition of “God Save the King.”
“It’s way more fun to have a live band than just a speaker and a phone,” Music Director Eddie Moreno, ArtSci ’28, said in an interview with The Journal. “There’s a whole new world of communication happening between the cast and the band that doesn’t happen with a phone.”
The Players presented their characters through monologues. Some characters were based on real people, with guest appearances from Bob Ross and MrBeast. Others took more on conceptual roles, like God and the Hobby Horser. Original or otherwise, the performers put their own spin on their characters to make the show their own.
Although distinct characters from different worlds seemingly risked the show’s sense of consistency, each performer was required to mention the theme of time travel at some point, creating a throughline through the chaos.
The Players didn’t shy away from using comedy to tell more serious messages.
Justin Skinner’s, ArtSci ’26, interpretation of Erika Kirk was hilarious, but they made it impossible to ignore her more controversial opinions. They made fun of the multi-city “grief tour,” but also reminded the audience of her debated views on women and feminism.
“When you put those things in a comedy show, you’re able to have that ability to reflect on the world right now while not feeling [bad] about it,” rookie cast member Izzy Fulford, ArtSci ’27, told The Journal.
The remainder of the show consisted of sketches and solo performances. Each sketch had six performers, and the audience followed their characters through time. The crowd was taken to Troy in 1200 BCE and to a futuristic Labubu Zoo with Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry.
The scenes were undeniably odd, but hilarious, and they kept the crowd laughing until the very end.
“We have all different kinds of people and different minds,” Ingram said, “but in a way they’re similar in this strangely unique, weird sense.”
The Queen’s Players are a community of chaos and their infectious energy radiated through the Canteen. By the finale, the Players proved that their brand of comedy is as timeless as ever.
Tags
Ale House Canteen, comedy, Queens Players, sketch comedy, Student clubs
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