Nikki Bon and Claire Cavalheiro | Photo courtesy of Scott Cavalheiro
Presented by Canadian Apocrypha
2% of Condoms is a tight, ambitious two-hander that packs an array of revealing anecdotal scenarios into its efficient 55 minutes. Written and performed by Nikki Bon and Claire Cavalheiro, fellow bastards, it tracks their friendship—from broken condoms, strained adolescence and absent fathers to sex parties and sudden motherhood. One of the most impressive aspects of this show is how elegantly they convey poignant, vulnerable truths within a sketch comedy format. Under Scott Anthony Cavalheiro’s shrewd, punchy direction, it has stable momentum, varied moods, and no dead air whatsoever.
Nikki and Claire are just such a blast together! The whole time! Narratively, there is a solid through-line, from girlhood to their thirties, and they subtly modulate their physicality along the way. Most of the sketches are naturalistic, though they work in some clever conceptual framing for key bits. One of the most stylized and inspired is a scene in the trenches of their twenties, where they don combat helmets (bombs going off around them) and brave the front line of emotional availability towards their estranged fathers.
We get a glimpse of their mothers and see how patterns of neglect, overcompensation and absent men repeat themselves. We come to understand their bond and trajectory through well-crafted episodes. Though we feel their stories quite intensely, none of this is downbeat. These ladies are masters of tonal variation. And each has a distinct deal that feels honest yet also sells the sketch duo vibes of it all. Bon has a wildcard energy that’s pretty thrilling and Cavalheiro, rather than killing the buzz, balances it out with a modesty and conservatism that has a whimsical edge to it.
There’s some songs, those are clever too! Really, they whip out so many theatrically inventive little flourishes to keep us on our toes and invested. And it never feels like a distraction, because it’s not. They have a firm handle on who they are, what the story means to them, know exactly where they want to take us and how to do it with style.
It’s not often that a laugh out loud during sketch comedy. 2% of Condoms got me. It’s sophisticated, thoughtful material bolstered by savvy execution.
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