Dead and Kicking

The only performer that I actually enjoyed from the night of Live and Kicking that I attended. This is the promotional poster for Bad Medicine, Mark Palmer's comedy show at the festival. The picture was found through Google.

I am a big fan of comedy. I love a good laugh and would never say no to a good comedy show. As long as it's good. If someone asked me to go to Saturday night's session of Live and Kicking again, I would definitely say no. I would say it in a loud, resounding voice that would echo from my home at the top of African street, to the Bowling Club a block down the road and beyond.

We chose to go to Live and Kicking because it was happening at the Bowling Club. It was close, we thought to ourselves, so we could walk there. It was also a late show, which meant that we weren't giving up on something better to go and watch it. If the show was rubbish, we wouldn't have wasted any of our precious time. Or so we figured, anyway. Personally, I would rather have spent my time sleeping.

We arrived at the Bowling Club about ten minutes early, having learned from the earlier shows that arriving half an hour early was just not necessary and usually led to you waiting in the cold while the performers were getting ready. We figured that ten minutes would give us enough time to find a decent seat, get comfy and get warm. Twenty minutes later, we were still waiting for the show to start. The event was well attended, and while it wasn't a full house, Natasha and I had certainly seen emptier ones (Paperboy for example). As the comedians for Live and Kicking change on a nightly basis, we weren't quite sure what we were in for.

Ten minutes late, the MC arrived on stage and the show kicked off. When I think of a Master of Ceremonies, I think of someone who says a joke or two, introduces the next act and then makes his way back stage. This was definitely not the case with Martin Evans, who took over the stage and spent a good deal of time with his own comedy rather than allowing the other comedians to shine. The first half hour of the show was dedicated to him, his motorbike and his mocking of a high school boy sitting in the front row.

High school students actually made up a fairly large percentage of the audience, and a lot of the humour was either for their benefit or at their expense. What this meant was that, for a large portion of the show, jokes were being made about students in the front row that only people in the first two rows could understand and appreciate. What it also meant was that a lot of sexual humour was directed at them and the fact that they were still virginal. It wasn't the kind of humour that I was particularly interested in, and it was clear that I wasn't the only one.

Once Martin Evans finally relinquished the throne, he handed it over to Jem Atkins, who didn't hold the position particularly well or for particularly long. With a handful of jokes about divorce, a handful about parenting and a handful of accents that he could pull off rather well, to be fair, his repertoire fell a little flat with me and the rest of the crowd. Of course, throughout these acts, there were people laughing. But they tended to be the same people, and they certainly weren't the majority.

After Jem Atkins stalked off the stage, Martin Evans returned and spent another ten minutes bragging about himself, his bike and his own show before passing the mike on to someone else. To be completely honest, I don't remember the second guy's name, or the show that he starred in. All I remember is that he was from Durban and that he played a guitar. He reminded me a bit of a wannabe Tim Minchin, and he didn't quite live up to the standard. With a song or two here, a ginger joke there, he was off the stage and forgotten.

Once again, it was time for Martin Evans to take the stage and revel in his limelight for a little while longer before introducing the final comedian. I must admit, Mark Palmer's part of the show I actually did enjoy. His was the only comedy that I actually truly laughed at, though I had given out a couple of chuckles throughout the night more from embarrassment than anything else. Mark Palmer, on the other hand, was actually funny, and I regret not having the time to see his show, Best Medicine. If the entire session had revolved around him, I am sure that it would have been far more enjoyable, and it was only because of him that I ended up sticking around despite the show going over its time by half an hour.

Live and Kicking is a potluck. The comedians change every night, so I wouldn't take my disgust at the show too far, since these comedians will not be returning. Instead, I would take my review with a pinch of salt - if you enjoy comedy, go to Live and Kicking. But please do remember that any good review of the show might not be repeated the next night and that the comedians may not be on their best game. Good luck is all I can say!