The Templeton Philharmonic: Unbridled & Unstable

L to R: Gwynne Phillips and Briana Templeton. Photo by Tanja Tiziana.

Canadian Comedy Award-nominated sketch duo The Templeton Philharmonic (Gwynne Phillips and Briana Templeton) display their unique brand of eccentric and surreal wit at the Next Stage Theatre Festival this month in Unbridled & Unstable, a new show packed with social commentary, hilarious interpretive dancing and tongue-in-cheek equine spirit.

Sporting top hats and posh accents, Phillips and Templeton ride on stage as Edwardian snobs and move through a series of character-driven sketches where they play everything from obsessive purveyors of salad to monks inventing the game Charades during a vow of silence. Effortlessly combining nostalgia for old artforms, such as foley, with modern scenarios, like a Book Club meeting gone wrong, this energetic pair get big laughs throughout the 60-minute production, which also involves a couple of lucky audience members in a "horse race" on stage. You can bet on having fun. The Templeton Philharmonic is a class act.

Unbridled & Unstable runs until January 18 at the Next Stage Theatre Festival (Factory Theatre Studio 125 Bathurst St.). Visit fringetoronto.com for more information and to buy tickets.