by Rathika Sheila
Coconuts KL was invited to preview a few shows that are part of PJ Laugh Fest last Tuesday. Among them were, ‘Shear Madness’, MACC’s next generation lineup ‘Scary Cheap’, Cerita Malam Jumaat and Project Disko Baldi. I love laughing, so being able to spend my afternoon that way was great, I felt #blessed.
The media preview began with Malaysian Association of Chinese Comedians or MACC for short. Their upcoming show introduces three new comedians that have materials that are not-so prude-friendly. One of their comics is 22 year old Tuck, and he is well equipped with borderline racist and sexual jokes (which are the best). My favorite one was him sharing that his ex-girlfriend is against racism and he said to her, “I agree with you baby. We should hold on to our Black and Indian friends because we may lose them…. in the dark.” Douglas Lim introduced him by saying, “this fella, when you see him it looks like there’s something missing and at the beginning I wasn’t sure what it was. Then I got to know him and I realized, this fella is just missing a few chromosomes.”
Shortly after, we had a short viewing of Shear Madness which happens to be the longest running non-musical in the world. Shear Madness is the name of the salon which resides below a famous pianist’s apartment who is found to have been murdered, leaving everyone present at the salon a suspect. It’s an interactive play, meaning both cast and audience have to solve the crime. The dialogue and settings have been adapted to our Malaysian-ways, so it’s relatable and absolutely hilarious.
Cerita Malam Jumaat is presented by Rumah Anak Teater, and it’s standup in our mother tongue! If you’re one that enjoys explicit and Malay-humor, this show cannot be missed. The preview ended with a song from the enthusiastic cast of Projek Disko Baldi and I hope I’m not sounding biased here but, if you love to laugh and enjoy all things comedic, the shows that are part of PJ Laugh Fest will satisfy you in great amounts. There are a total of 11 shows, and the festival starts from 13 May to 1 June.
We also got to have 5 minutes with legendary comedians, Harith Iskandar and Douglas Lim to discuss their respected shows and why people shouldn’t perform certain jokes even if they are funny.
Harith Iskandar is hosting a new show called, ‘Making S#it Up’. Pronounced as Making Shit Up for those above 18 years old, and Making Hashtag-It Up for those that are underage. From what he explained, the show has certain elements of Whose Line Is It Anyway:
What do you want people to leave with after watching the show? Wet pants from too much laughing?
Harith Iskandar (H): This is the first time the show is being done. It’s a completely improvised show but it can only be done by standup comedians so there’s something called Actorlympics which is basically games that anyone can play – these games [in Making S#it Up] have to be played by standup comedians. So what I want the first batch of audience to leave with ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before.’ ‘That was amazing!’ ‘I want to see that again.’
How did you come up with idea for the show?
H: The ideas as with any games, there are certain rules to it. I’ll set the rules and I’ll throw the comics the topics and they’ll have to carry that and bring the humor.
The topic themselves have no inherent humor in them. For example, it may be “What Obama said to Najib” and they won’t know what the topics are until that night. There are several parts of the game:
1. Stand Up Comedy Without A Net
The comedian will get on stage and he will start his routine for about two minutes but he doesn’t know what he’s going to talk about. We’ll flash to him the topic and he’ll have to work around that.
2. Newsworthy
I will flash up a photograph that’s been in the news and based on that photograph, the comedian have to explain what’s going on in the photograph.
3. Joke Thief
A comedian will go up and do 5 minutes of his routine standup, and another comedian will do 5 minutes of his/her standup. Then the first comedian has to imitate the second comedian and repeat everything they did and in their voice as well.
Which show are you looking forward to seeing the most?
H From a standup comedy point of view, I’m interested to watch Douglas Lim’s ‘Mini MACC’ cos I’m always interested to watch new standup comedians.
Douglas Lim (D): Making S#it Up. I’ve no idea what’s going on.. but I’m going to be playing the games so that should be interesting.
If you had to describe PJ Laugh Fest without using the word ‘funny’ how would you describe it?
H PJ Laugh Fest is a blast. It’s a month of comedy and I think it’s what Malaysia needs at the moment.
D Should layoff the Mongolian jokes, man.
H It’s a month of comedy and I think it’s what Malaysia needs at the moment.
D I would say it’s a laugh buffet.
How important is it for people to be able to laugh at themselves? Is it easy to get Malaysians to do that?
H Malaysians are capable at laughing at themselves that’s why I’ve been doing this for 22 years and that’s why I’m still doing it. Comedy is about laughing at yourself. I cannot go up there and make fun of someone unless I’ve made fun of myself – my hair, my weight, my baldness – then people are more accepting of that. I’ve started a production company called Harith Iskandar V-Day Production in hopes to carry on the events of comedy. Comedians are the new rockstars lah, in a way.
D I think laughing at yourself and other people even, is essential. I think Malaysians have never had problems with laughing at themselves. I think the problem is that now we have people telling us to be serious, and that’s bullshit. When we laugh among ourselves, there’s no mean-spiritedness about it. If anyone wants to be menacing, vindicated or vengeful.. don’t lump us with them. If they want to be assholes, they can be assholes. We need some so we can make fun of them.
Where do you draw the line?
D In my opinion nothing is sacred. Any subject, a joke can be made. Does it need to be performed? No. A simple example was about MH370.
I was surprised when people started making stupid jokes online. You look at all the Malaysian comedians and if none of us said anything, isn’t that a cue for you to shut the fuck up?
You think we have no jokes? That’s our job. So I’m glad that whomever posted those comments got the backlash.
As a comedian who’s performed on many levels in Malaysian entertainment, is it hard for stand-up comedy to cross over to non-English audiences, and maybe merge with the Raja Lawak crowd?
H Comedy is big in Bahasa Malaysia. The comedians comedy is usually sketched based. In the Malay language there’s not much standup comedy but it is beginning to happen.. We experimented it on projects like Lawak Ke Der 1, 2, and 3. The Malay speaking audiences are beginning to accept and understand it but comedy in Bahasa Malaysia has different timing and different things are found funny. So if I was to do my standup in BM, I always adapt it but it can translate.
On the Shows:
Faulty Towers Dining Experience
Date: 14 May to 1 June
Time: 12.30pm/7.30pm
How much:
Lunch – RM165 per person / RM888 for group of 6
Dinner – RM185 per person / RM1000 for group of 6
Projek Disko Baldi Sings: ‘Boleh Tinggi Lagi’
Date: 15 to 18 May
Time: 3.00pm/8.30pm
How Much: RM 55
Making S#it Up
Date: 21 and 22 May
Time: 8.30pm
How Much: RM30, RM40, RM50
Andrew Netto Live
Date: 23 May
Time: 8.30pm
How Much: RM40
Awek Chuck Taylor
Date: 24 to 25 May
Time: 8.30pm
How Much: RM30, RM40
Shear Madness
Date: 28 May to 1 June
Time: 8.30pm
How Much: RM50, RM65, RM80
Cerita Malam Jummat
Date: 29 May
Time: 9pm
How Much: RM20
The Comedy Nerds
Date: 28 to 31 May
Time: 8.30pm
How Much: RM 25
For more information on the PJ Laugh Fest, visit www.pjlivearts.my or call them at +60 3 79600439.
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