Giving stand-up comedy a boost
Comedy Night returns to the circuit today (April 6) at the Manchester, with some young comedians set to take the stage to entertain (and occasionally shock) local audiences with the good, the bad and sometimes painful. In celebration of what looks to be a regular event in Colombo, we relive last month’s Comedy Night.
Walking into the Manchester at 6 p.m, an hour before the show was allotted start, we meet the three comedians for the night -Sacha Seneviratne and Jayanga Nanayakkara (newbies), Shuhaib Ali a seasoned comedian who has completed his rounds on the Qatar circuit for a quick chat.
Jayanga,Sacha,Shuhaib and Fahmy Pix by Indika Handuwela
Shuhaib is a motivational speaker and comedian who used to be based in Qatar before he moved back to Sri Lanka. “I’ve always wanted to come back and make comedy a regular thing here,” he says. However, that was already done by Fahmy Rahman, co-founder of Tranquil Events. Fahmy’s team was responsible for the 2012 evening of comedy with Ashok Ferrey and they’ve hosted several sessions since. This is their venture into the more regular and casual form of stand-up comedy which they hope to make mainstream with the Comedy Festival in June this year.
Shuhaib on his end is gravely respectful towards his trade. “I take comedy very seriously,” he deadpans. We’re momentarily thrown but thankfully, he laughs.
“I believe that everyone’s got a funny bone. Think of your uncle or aunt who manages to make everyone crack up at a family gathering. If you put them in front of a bunch of people they don’t know, though, they’ll freeze. And that’s the difference between professional comedians and the everyday people who make us laugh.” For his performance, Shuhaib relived his life in Qatar and the many eccentricities of Middle Eastern policemen.
Sacha, a sportsman by profession, has only been in the circuit for about three months but received an enthusiastic response from the crowd gathered at the Manchester that evening. “People laugh when you have no qualms about laughing at yourself,” he shares.
Sacha’s act is mainly impromptu and he can’t imagine doing it any other way. There was certainly nothing rehearsed about his act, with the comedian taking on policemen (we’re not sure what it is about policemen and comedians but they do seem to have a lot of interaction)-in Sri Lanka this time. We next meet Jayanaga, a law student with seemingly the worst luck when it comes to dating but it turn out too bad when he milked the streak of bad luck for his act, easily drawing laughter from the audience. Speaking to us he shared that these stand-up comedy nights have been a proving ground to him of sorts.
“My humour is very in your face and I worry that audiences might not understand that,”-they certainly did that night-“but I go with it anyway. I believe comedy can be something more than entertainment, which is why I try to also comment on certain topics that will make people think when they get home after their night out.”
For Fahmy, who masterminded these events together with his colleagues Arun Selvaratnam and Umar Cassim, comedy has great untapped potential and that’s why they stand strong behind the venture. There’s one thing Fahmy shares with us, and the three comedians unanimously agree-making people laugh is no walk in the park. Kudos to anyone with the guts to go up in front of a tough audience and hold their own.
Check out the comedians tonight at the Manchester from 7pm onwards.