A colorful splash of fun! See what I did there? It was funny, right? No? Okay, nevermind…

PocBS: People of Color Broadcasting Service graciously invites its audience into the world of a fictional broadcasting studio, blending sketch comedy with live music, puppetry, stand-up and the chaos of putting the show together in a political world. The result of this is a lively and human show that truly embraces the unpredictability of live performance.

Tokunbo Adegbuyi is commanding, charming and everything you need from a show host, his performance brings a tremendous amount of energy and presence to the show, and the audience clearly feeds off of his energy. Abegbuyi also has amazing audience anticipation, playing with the audience's reactions, making even the small interactions feel spontaneous and hilarious. His confidence and stage presence give the show an anchor and keeps the audience engaged as we move from segment to segment.

The less successful parts of the show resided within its exploration of its central concept. With PocBS marketing itself as a “People of Color Broadcast Service”, Instead of engaging with that idea much of the material felt more focused on political commentary than on the broader experience of creating a fictional broadcast service centered around people of colour. The political material certainly has a place within the show, but at points I wished the production had pushed further into the depth of its premise.

The performers who took over the in-between segments were also somewhat uneven. While the variety of performances kept the show moving, and their performances were genuinely great. Some of these transitions felt less polished than the sections led by Adegbuyi, interrupting rather than building on the momentum of the show.

In the end, PocBS: People of Color Broadcasting Service is a lively and playful variety show with a host who’s amazing at commanding rooms. Its strongest moments come from the interaction between Adegbuyi and the audience, where the spontaneity of live theatre really comes out.