PALEONTOLOGY:

 

SEX T-REX has been performing in Toronto since a fateful Cage Match free-for-all improv competition in 2008. After winning the $1000 Grand Prize they hooked up with Runner Up team The Jeremy Birrell Show (headed up by long-time friend of the group Matt Folliott) and created Sex with Jeremy; a monthly show at Comedy Bar that ran for three seasons.  These sold-out shows attracted acclaimed opening guests like Uncalled For, Picnicface, The Bitter End, Venezuela, Kerry Griffin, and more.

In February 2011 Sex T-Rex premiered Callaghan! a live, improvised action movie produced at the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre. Created as a way to showcase our physical theatre and stage combat training, Callaghan evolved from improv to a fully scripted 60 minute show (first produced at Montreal’s Mainline Theatre where it was invited back for a weekend run in April 2012) and went on to rave reviews and award nominations in the Montreal Fringe of 2012 and the Toronto Fringe in 2013, and Pick of the Fringe in 2016 when it was remounted as part of World Tour II.

In 2012, Sex T-Rex starred in a Puppet Sitcom, because those were all the rage in 2012.  Bendysign Coffee went on to win Insight Productions’ Pilot Week competition at Comedy Bar, netting a purse of 5000$- the first time Sex T-Rex had earned pay for a show that could not logically be spent on drinks that night.

Our next scripted show, a sci-fi comedy called Leviathan, premiered at Toronto’s up-and-coming Storefront Theatre in 2013 and went on to raves and award nominations of its own in the Montreal Fringe.  In Leviathan, Sex T-Rex collaborated with comedy powerhouse Chris Wilson (Peter N’ Chris, The Irrelevant Show) and drama powerhouse Hannah Miller (Soulpepper Theatre).

In 2014, due to being put on the spot in a radio interview, Sex T-Rex shifted its genre lens toward the western, producing a critically acclaimed run of improvised western movies in association with Bad Dog Theatre; Sundown, and scripting our third Action-Comedy: “Watch Out Wildkat!” (Yer Dealin’ With the Devil).  WildKat was our was our most ambitious tour to date (World Tour I- Halifax, Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg), garnering five star reviews, selling out 200 seat theatres, and even winning Best of Fest at the 2014 Atlantic Fringe Festival.

In 2015, Sex T-Rex returned to the Fringe with floppy hats and foam swords at the ready for our swashbuckling fantasy SwordPlay: A Play of Swords.  SwordPlay was fringe hit, and arguably our most popular show- winning the Just For Laughs Best Comedy award in Montreal and selling out the latter half of its run at Toronto’s Al Green Theatre.  SwordPlay was remounted in the East Coast during World Tour II in 2016 where it won Best Comedy at the Atlantic Fringe, and then remounted again in the West during World Tour III where it won Pick of the Fringe and the B.C. Touring Council Award at the 2017 Vancouver Fringe.  SwordPlay has received five star reviews in Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.

In 2016, Sex T-Rex produced SwordPlay and WildKat in repertory at the Storefront theatre in a night of blockbuster comedy we called “Sex T-Rep”.

In the 2016 Fringe, after having seen Mad Max: Fury Road at the movie theatre no less than twice AND sunk a number of hours into Fallout 4, we were beholden to tackle the Post Apocalyptic genre with the foam-tube-filled, radioaction-packed Wasteland.  Wasteland won Second City’s Most Outstanding Comedy award leading to a mainstage remount and a burgeoning relationship with Toronto’s premier comedy destination.

In 2017, Sex T-Rex re-modled our 2012 Puppet sitcom into full on Puppet Musical set in the Paddock Tavern. Bendysign Tavern was such a huge hit at the 2017 Toronto Fringe that it sold out its entire 11 show run, and then went on to oversell a November off-Fringe weekend remount.

2018 marks our 10th Anniversary, and it’s already off to a bang with SwordPlay’s stellar run in the Next Stage Theatre Festival in Toronto (adding to the show’s pile of five star reviews). This year, we’re continuing to challenge ourselves by creating a different kind of show: a three part odyssey in the world of Cops ‘N’ Robbers that we are calling CRIME AFTER CRIME (After Crime)!  Crime After Crime (After Crime) opened with a teaser at Toronto Sketchfest and then premiered at the Montreal Fringe and enjoyed a remount at Montreal’s Wildside Festival.

Meanwhile, our monthly improv variety show has run under various names in various venues but today Sex T-Rex are Artists in Residence at the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre where we run a pair of monthly Improv shows there: Sex T-Rex Monthly, which continues our tradition of showcasing our favourite acts; and D&D Live! an unscripted parody of Dungeons and Dragons which won Patron’s pick, Best of Fringe and Critic’s Pick at the 2018 Toronto Fringe.