TOSketchFestBlog
Meet the Featured Acts: BDB Comedy Brings Mandarin Sketch Night to TOsketchfest 2026
Show: BDB Comedy’s Mandarin Sketch Night
When: Saturday, March 14, 6:00pm
Where: The Theatre Centre, Franco Boni Theatre
Runtime: 75 minutes
Best for: Fans of high-energy sketch comedy and anyone curious to experience live comedy in Mandarin with English captions
Tickets: HERE
BDB Comedy returns to TOsketchfest as a Featured Act at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, following a breakout debut that earned them the festival’s Audience Choice Award in 2024. Since forming in Toronto in 2022, BDB has quickly built a reputation for sharp, high-energy sketch comedy that plays confidently to the room and creates an unmistakable sense of fun. Their shows are fast-paced, tightly performed, and audience-forward, with a clear instinct for what lands live.
Mandarin Sketch Night brings together the strongest sketches BDB has developed over the past year, creating a lively showcase that reflects the group’s growth and momentum. The show is joyful and genre-spanning, rooted in strong ensemble chemistry and bold performance choices. Performed entirely in Mandarin with live English captions, the experience remains accessible while keeping the focus squarely on timing, craft, and big laughs. This is a crowd-pleasing comedy night led by a troupe that knows exactly how to connect.
“It’s a collective look at who we are and what we love: absurd, heartfelt, and very good.” – Olivia Tong, BDB Comedy
We asked BDB Comedy about their comedy, their process, and what audiences can expect from this show. Here’s what they had to say.
For readers meeting you for the first time: who are you, and how would you describe your comedy?
Hello, we’re BDB Comedy! Our name in Mandarin is 不得不喜剧. It is our fifth year creating and performing comedy in Toronto—mostly in Mandarin, and sometimes in English. We enjoy creating sketches that are relevant to our day-to-day lives. Our artists all share similar Mandarin-English bilingual backgrounds, which provides immense inspiration to pull from. We love emotional topics just as much as we love being goofballs about total shenanigans.
Tell us about the show you’re bringing to TOsketchfest. How did it come together?
Our show this year is another sketch hour featuring the best of our work from the past year. We currently have seven sketches in rehearsal, all born from our monthly ideation meetings. We’ve refined these premises through improv and tested them at our ‘Sketchy Sketch’ labs to bring you our funniest material yet.
What can audiences expect when they come to see this show?
Expect a high-energy genre mash-up! We’re jumping from ancient dynasty costume dramas to Stephen Chow-style underdog triumphs. Our stories are inspired by our lives as Millennials, GenZ, Torontonians, international students, immigrants, and kids who grew up obsessed with Chinese mythology. It’s a collective look at who we are and what we love: absurd, heartfelt, and very good.
What makes this show different from your past work, or from other sketch shows audiences might have seen?
We are constantly pushing ourselves to try things we’ve never done before—new genres, new dance tropes, and new technical challenges for our sound and light team. While our core spirit remains the same, BDB is evolving. We’re bolder and more experimental this year!
Why is TOsketchfest a great fit for this show?
We love Sketchfest! It has been such a welcoming home for us over the last three years. It was our first-ever comedy festival experience in 2024, and we love how each year it celebrates a massive variety of genres and talents. It’s full of kind, funny people, and we are so proud to be part of this community.
Who do you think will especially love this show?
Honestly we think anyone would have a great time. Whether you’re a sketch nerd or a first-timer, there’s something in here for you.
What excites you most about being a Featured Act at TOsketchfest this year?
When we heard the news, it felt like Wàn mǎ bēnténg (万马奔腾) — “ten thousand horses galloping through our hearts.” Since it’s the Year of the Horse, it’s spot on! It is an immense honor to be featured alongside some of the best comedians in North America. We can’t wait to join the celebration!
If someone is on the fence, what would you say to convince them to buy a ticket?
If you speak Mandarin, you’ll love the nuances and word play. If you don’t speak Mandarin, you’ll definitely love the stupidity, the energy and the comedy. Either way, you’re going to have a blast.
Why This Is a Featured Show
BDB Comedy was selected as a Featured Act because of the undeniable response their work receives from live audiences. Their debut at TOsketchfest in 2024 resulted in an Audience Choice Award, a clear signal of how strongly their comedy resonates in the room. The programming committee was drawn to their consistency, as well as the troupe’s confident performances, strong ensemble precision, and ability to sustain high energy across a full-length show.
Mandarin Sketch Night stands out for its clarity of purpose and execution. The sketches are tightly constructed, the performances are precise, and the overall experience feels celebratory without ever becoming loose or unfocused. Featuring BDB Comedy at TOsketchfest highlights a troupe that has quickly established itself as a dynamic and reliable presence, delivering joyful, high-quality sketch comedy that audiences genuinely want to experience again.
Don’t miss your chance to see one of TOsketchfest’s standout acts.
This featured show has limited seating and is expected to sell quickly.
Photo of BDB Comedy at TOsketchfest 2025 by Ramya Jegatheesan.
