If you’re looking for an evening of unhinged, non-stop laughs, The Second City always delivers. 

Their newest revue, All Messed Up & Nowhere to Go, is a wild road trip through life’s greatest catastrophes —from destination weddings to those mysterious Tupperware lids that don’t fit to Ontario’s education system. 

Carrying you through this journey is a hilarious six-person ensemble: Devon Henderson and Coko Galore are returning as cast members, joined by Tiyawnda, Christian Smith, Scott Yamamura, and Conor Bradbury.

The revue kicked off last month and is running into the fall—it’s a guaranteed great night out full of laughter, song, energy, and all-around good vibes.

We caught up with Toronto-based writer and performer Tiyawnda to hear about what makes this revue special, her love for an epic plot twist, and the goofiness that ensues with her castmates.

What is your favourite part of All Messed Up & Nowhere To Go to perform?

I consistently look forward to the scenes that include all 6 cast members. There are a few sprinkled throughout the show. It’s fun to have a full busy stage, bouncing our energy about. 

I also find that for some reason, these are the scenes where we seem to mess with each other the most; maybe it’s especially fun to try and surprise someone or make someone laugh while more cast members are present to witness it! 

Photo by Arthur Mola

What do you love about working with this cast?

I love that we all bring different skills to the ensemble and can all learn from each other. We have fun offstage, care about each other, respect each other’s day-to-day moods and energy levels, and match each other’s freak and goofiness. 

What do you think are the qualities of a great sketch?

Great sketches can look so many ways! Personally, I love a fun twist. I guess you could call me M. Night Shyamalan! I really like moments where the audience might be a little uncomfortable and unsure of if they “should” laugh or not. I find it satisfying to feel the room trying to parse that out in real time. Better yet, I love to hear audiences surprised by their own laughter!  

Photo by Arthur Mola

What was it that made you want to get into comedy?

I love to laugh and be silly, and I love to make other people laugh and be silly! I grew up in foster care and was displaced to a rural area where nobody looked like me. I think I reacted to my situation by seeing what others saw as “unluckiness” as a sort of chaotic absurdity (this helped me avoid shame about my situation as well), and I have always wanted to awaken others to the chaotic absurd world all around and inside each and every one of us! There are some who might interpret my situation as a sad one where comedy is just a survival tactic– but I think that removes a lot of my agency and perspective.

Do you have a memorable moment from your performances so far?

The moments that stand out to me the most are funny mistakes. There was a show a while back, shortly before we officially opened, where I just completely garbled a line and was essentially saying pure gibberish for quite a while. I kept trying to fix it but just could not. My cast mate, Conor, having no idea what I was even trying to say, was staring at me with confusion, sympathy, and amusement. 

It was the last line of the scene and eventually our stage manager, Matt Keevins, just pulled the lights and it was a funny moment. I realize this could sound like someone’s literal nightmare- but it was very fun! Moments like those are great to me cause it really unites the room. 

Photo by Arthur Mola

Do you have any pre or post-show rituals?

Before this show I do my hair and makeup, and try to warm up my voice a little, and maybe do some light stretching. The cast and crew do some razzing and a fun chant before the show. 

After the show we will sometimes hang out for a bit. I am a night owl and so I usually go home and stay up for hours– watching Love Island, doom scrolling, pacing my home in the dark, connecting with my cats…

Three words to describe All Messed Up & Nowhere To Go?

Fast! Silly! Loud!

Why should people come to see the show this summer?

I think seeing live performance is something most people could really benefit from! We’re all on our phones so much, we think that we’re taking in so much art and comedy on ze apps– but there is something really special about live performance and being in the same room with the performers. 

There’s a decent amount of fun audience interaction in the show; this can scare some people off, but we’ve built it in a way so that even the shyest of people would be comfortable. By the end of the show the audience and performers have really built a cute little rapport with each other.

All Messed Up & Nowhere To Go is on stage now at The Second City.