Will the funny men please stand up?

They sure will, this weekend. Mumbai-based Ashish Shakia and Jonathan Artherton from Singapore promise rolling-in-the-aisles laughter at their stand up shows in the city

Will the funny men please stand up?

They sure will, this weekend. Mumbai-based Ashish Shakia and Jonathan Artherton from Singapore promise rolling-in-the-aisles laughter at their stand up shows in the city
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Renowned shooter Tom Knapp once said, "Without a strong sense of humour, we might as well all become accountants, remedial algebra teachers and telephone sanitizers."u00a0 Even if you are any of the above, what's stopping you from enjoying a night of comedy?

Ashish Shakia

Bangalore's funny man Ajit Saldanha is bringing stand-up comedians Ashish Shakia and Jonathan Artherton for 75-minute supper comedy shows, which would be opened by him. "I will be more of an emcee, but my jokes would be a bit like a wedding, some old, some new, some borrowed and some blue. These shows are for those who are tired of the cr*p on TV. Bangalore has a discerning audience comprising reasonably well travelled, smart people, with a sense of humour. As the great comedian Paul Marten once said, "The Bangalore audience makes me want to paraphrase the Beatles -I'll like to take you home with me. You can do stuff here that you can't attempt anywhere else in the world. But you can't do the banal and the slapstick. And since most people blow up R 1,500 to 2,000 in a pub for mindless entertainment, I thought of bringing together like minded people," says Ajit.

The two comedians, who'll perform in the city for the second time, balance each other out beautifully. While Ashish's humour is more brash and in-your-face and has a refreshing take on politics, Jonathan addresses subjects that are more often than not brushed under the carpet in the polite society. Some of the jokes will make you uncomfortable or hot under the collar, even if they are not about sex. They could be about racism and tougher issues.

Ashish promises different jokes this time. "I have been traveling a lot since the last time I visited Bangalore. So I will cover current affairs, politics, observational humour and personal stories for the 22-minute opening act," he says.

He wouldn't eschew the three golden topics in Bangalore that all comedians love to base their jokes on. So expect potshots on the metro, the traffic and the Cinderella deadline of the city, but with a twist. "I love your politicians like Mr Yeddyurappa. And there will be some stuff on Independence Day, since we just celebrated it," reveals Ashish.u00a0

One of the minds behind the Cyrus Broacha-Kunal Vijaykar laugh fest The Week That Wasn't and a humour columnist with a daily, Ashish loves the older Bangalore audience as "they lap up the dirty, sexual jokes, are smart and get the political references."

Jonathan, a linguist professor who will do the main act, universalises stories as he's of Australian origin and has lived across the globe as his father was a foreign correspondent. "He localises his humour, which is a great gift for a comedian as most jokes are lost in transition," Ajit says about the man who will rock Bangalore with his 45-minute act. Known as the laugh guru in Singapore, Jonathan says a lot has happened since the last time he was here in 2009. "I am single after splitting with my wife. So I will talk about relationships and Australian cricket although I'm not a big fan of sports. I feel sports are for children," he states.

Culture, language, human conditions and American terrorism will be touched upon in his spontaneous, improvised act. "When I'm on stage with a mic, everything'su00a0 fine. It's like attaining moksha," says Jonathan who runs comedy clubs in Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lampur and Bangkok.

Don't be surprised to catchu00a0u00a0 Hindi and Kannada words in his act. "I picked up Kannada in Ulsoor and Hindi in Paharganj in Delhi. Normally when I'm in India, I hang out with chaiwallas and dhobiwallas. I lived in a 10 feet by 15 feet house in Ulsoor and made several observations about life in India. For instance, the hippies come to India to find spiritualism, which is inside you. You don't have to come to India for that. It's a joke," he avers.
He's called Australia's best known export since Fosters Beer. But Jonathan says, "Fosters is one of the world's most hideous beers. No Australian drinks it."

Jonathan doesn't believe in using props for his act. "Proper stand-up comedy is not done with props. The minute you do that, you become an actor. A comedian uses his own words, ideas, observations to create a raw form of entertainment. It's much like the ancient art of story telling that would happen sitting around the fire," he opines.

Where Jagriti Theatre, Alliance Francaise and Manchester United respectivelyu00a0
On August 18, 20, 21, 8 30 pm to 10 pmu00a0
For Rs 1,000 including snacks and drinks
Call 9845034406