Toronto comedian Vivek Srikanthan is set to make Vancouver audiences laugh, cringe, and reflect with One Man, No City, a 65-minute solo sketch comedy revue directed by Dave Barclay. The show runs September 4–14, 2025, as part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival.
Described as part Bob Newhart’s one-sided conversations and part Key & Peele absurdity—filtered through the realities of growing up in low-income housing—One Man, No City is both comedic and painfully honest.
Srikanthan takes the stage as an astronaut-like figure, not in space but in the cold isolation of everyday disconnection. Through a series of self-deprecating sketches, he pulls apart his history, relationships, ethnicity, and family, offering audiences a meta-fictional exploration of identity and belonging.
While the show is primarily a solo effort, it features contributions from Peter Cheema (Every Feeling), Chris Johnson (Summer Dad), Julia Jones (Big Chick Energy), and Andrea Miller (People Suck).
Srikanthan, a graduate of the Second City Toronto Writing Program, has quickly built a reputation on the sketch comedy circuit. Over the past year, he has performed at major festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Denver, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, in addition to being a semi-finalist in Toronto’s Sketch to the Death competition. He is also a member of the troupes Depresh Mode and Try-Racial.
Director Dave Barclay brings his own award-winning comedy credentials to the production. A series regular on CTV’s The Beaverton and YTV’s Popularity Papers, Barclay has directed hits like the 2025 Toronto Fringe standout Galen’s Grocer and has been part of multiple acclaimed sketch collectives.
With its mix of satire, high-energy absurdity, and raw personal storytelling, One Man, No City promises to be a standout in this year’s Vancouver Fringe lineup.
Last modified: August 19, 2025
