Editor’s note: This article reflects the views of Lydia Derris and Collyn Ballentine, not the Old Gold & Black.
The Lilting Banshees — (allegedly) Wake Forest’s sharpest comedic minds — closed out their season with “Pants Down XVIII” on April 2 in Brendle Recital Hall. With two sold-out shows and a devoted crowd, the Banshees delivered a chaotic and hilarious send-off packed with satire, absurdity and all the campus inside jokes their fans have come to expect.
Before any actors even hit the stage, the Banshees set the night’s tone with their signature meme slideshow — a Banshees ritual that combines absurdist and hyper-specific references to campus life. Greek life, admin emails, overcommitted students and the personality taxonomy of Wake Forest colloquialisms were all fair game. The slideshow was ridiculous and garnered an audience-wide gasp more than once.
The pre-show video was not successful with the audience. The sketch explored the late-night horrors of Zick’s. While it was intended to play into absurdist humor, it was unsuccessful because it was not clear to the audience what was going on. It felt more like a confusing fever-dream with no punchline.
But then the lights dimmed, and the Banshees did what they do best: call out stereotypes, skewer students’ odd behaviors and hold the administration accountable.
Here are our stand-out sketches of the night:
“Live KA Scribe”
Our first praise goes to the skit “Live KA Scribe,” featuring George Denby, Jake Randall, Sebastian Terryn, Hamza Mian, Hayes Kennedy and Will McKenzie. It opens with a KA fraternity hazing lineup getting yelled at about who “snitched” and called the school to get the frat kicked off campus. One boy then shows his phone call history and his last phone call was from Roberta E. Lee (his grandma). The lineup is interrupted by their Live Stenographer, who reveals a hilariously damning transcript of every problematic thing ever uttered in the house — filed into two boxes: “Slurs” and “Title IX.” They didn’t hold back in mocking the fraternity’s dark past and its present reputation for being southern and conservative-leaning. It was, hands down, the funniest skit of the evening.
“Machi Meat Cube”
Next up was, “Machi Meat Cube,” featuring McKenzie, Denby, Thomas Bolt and Charli Head. This sketch deserves its own cult following. The Machis form a band despite lacking any musical talent, and Chi Os instantly lose their minds over it. The girls’ over-the-top excitement — even as the band played “Hot Cross Buns” in emo wigs — was a nod to how deep the frat-sorority alliances can run on Wake Forest’s campus. And the band name? “Meat Cube.” It satirizes both the performative weirdness of Machis and a refreshing switch up from their usual gay jabs.
“Dr. D**k Long”
The ninth sketch, featuring Randall, Margaux Ellis and Moran was, to be quite blunt, not funny to me at all. It features “Captain Democratic Republic of the Congo” (Randall) and his sidekick “Kitty” (Ellis), trying to get rid of Richard Long — Who has a massive d**k. That’s why they call him Doctor Richard Long, get it? This may have been funny to anyone who knew the people in the sketch, but to me, it was plain odd.
The Lilting Banshees are, at their best, a mirror held up to campus culture — distorted, maybe, but always grounded in real observations. They know exactly what they’re doing, and “Pants Down XVIII” proves they can still push boundaries without losing the crowd (too much).
Not every sketch hit, mostly due to sketches that did not apply to campus life and antics — they simply were not universally relatable to the Wake Forest student body. Kudos to them however, for diversifying their content, as the troupe’s biggest critique is that all of their skits are about Greek life.
I think we all look to the Banshees to take note of campus happenings and make them funny. But when the Banshees hit, they hit hard with pointed and intelligent satire that’s surprisingly self-aware.
Wake Forest needs them, not just for their comedic purchase, but for the mirror they hold up to campus life — even when we’d rather look away.
