{"data":{"id":"ecfd0aa7-8cbf-4cc7-a4dc-773ce0de4fea","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe Review: The Merkin Sisters: Backcombed is hilariously weird","summary":"The Merkin Sisters: Backcombed\n\n5 stars (out of 5)\n\nStage 1, Westbury Theatre, Fringe Arts Barns, 10330 84 Ave.\n\nThere were several moments during Backcombed, the delightfully unhinged return of physical comedy duo The Merkin Sisters, that a theatre-goer in front of me audibly uttered to the man next to her, “This is so weird.”\n\nIndeed it is. Indeed they are. But The Merkin Sisters have built a reputation on mining that weirdness for laughs, and this latest outing does not disappoint.\n\nIngrid Hansen and Stéphanie Morin-Robert have been fixtures at this and other fringe festivals for a number of years now, bringing their talents as puppeteers, storytellers and physical comedians to sell-out crowds.\n\nWhile both skilled performers in their own rights, their duo the Merkin Sisters bring their talents together in a perfect storm of eccentricity and energy.\n\nThere’s a scene in the movie The Big Lebowski, where Julianne Moore character Maude Lebowski describes her work to Jeff Bridges’ The Dude as being “vaginal.” Certainly, this would also be an apt descriptor for the Merkin Sisters, and I don’t mean it in a derogatory way, but that’s barely scratching the surface of the physical comedy and absurdity at play on stage. Few words are spoken, but the language is unmistakable.\n\nAt one point, Ingrid Hansen says, “People often ask us why we do what we do,” and then after a slight pause says, “and what it is we do,” to great laughs, and then the pair proceed to engage in an interpretive dance that seemed, although I could be mistaken, to revolve around a penis joke. And if that’s not enough of an explanation, I’m not sure what it is.\n\nSure, it may put some people off, but it’s hilariously weird. And sometimes that’s just what you need.\n\nRelated Fringe Review: Erika MacDonald turns tea into an absurdist metaphor\n\nFringe Review: A Hellmark Christmas Musical has the hallmarks of a fantastic Fringe show\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/edmonton-fringe-review-the-merkin-sisters","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/merkinsisters_304752611.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-08-17T18:45:18.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Festivals","Local Arts","Theatre"],"authorName":"Dave Breakenridge","contentHtml":"\"The

The Merkin Sisters: Backcombed

5 stars (out of 5)

Stage 1, Westbury Theatre, Fringe Arts Barns, 10330 84 Ave.

There were several moments during Backcombed, the delightfully unhinged return of physical comedy duo The Merkin Sisters, that a theatre-goer in front of me audibly uttered to the man next to her, “This is so weird.”

Indeed it is. Indeed they are. But The Merkin Sisters have built a reputation on mining that weirdness for laughs, and this latest outing does not disappoint.

Ingrid Hansen and Stéphanie Morin-Robert have been fixtures at this and other fringe festivals for a number of years now, bringing their talents as puppeteers, storytellers and physical comedians to sell-out crowds.

While both skilled performers in their own rights, their duo the Merkin Sisters bring their talents together in a perfect storm of eccentricity and energy.

There’s a scene in the movie The Big Lebowski, where Julianne Moore character Maude Lebowski describes her work to Jeff Bridges’ The Dude as being “vaginal.” Certainly, this would also be an apt descriptor for the Merkin Sisters, and I don’t mean it in a derogatory way, but that’s barely scratching the surface of the physical comedy and absurdity at play on stage. Few words are spoken, but the language is unmistakable.

At one point, Ingrid Hansen says, “People often ask us why we do what we do,” and then after a slight pause says, “and what it is we do,” to great laughs, and then the pair proceed to engage in an interpretive dance that seemed, although I could be mistaken, to revolve around a penis joke. And if that’s not enough of an explanation, I’m not sure what it is.

Sure, it may put some people off, but it’s hilariously weird. And sometimes that’s just what you need.

Related

Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.

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