The
last decade or so saw Indian television charge up with innumerable stand-up
comedy shows offering talented comedians the platform to showcase their talent,
not only via the TV shows themselves but through the ensuing live performances
as well. In Goa though, music being the most dominant form of entertainment,
comedy shows seemed to have taken a backseat. However, the recent years have
shown the emergence of stand-up comedy as a form of entertainment on the Goan
stage, with a number of clubs dedicated to comedy bringing in artistes offering
a dose of laughter to the Goan audience. Goans too are reciprocating by showing
a keen interest in this unique from of entertainment.
Anup
Allen and Clarence Henriques are all set to launch Comedy Shack, a platform
that will promote the art of stand-up comedy as a part of their venture Jack of
Events. “In Goa, when it comes to entertainment, music is the first thing that
comes to our mind. We wanted to bring in and popularise a different form of
entertainment, and that’s when we thought of setting up a stage for stand-up
comedy,” says Anup Allen while talking about comedy shack. With plans of promoting
the talented Konkani comedians as well as hunting for local talent, Anup hopes
to receive a good response from the spectators of Comedy Shack. “The stand-up
comedy shows held earlier this year by the likes of Vir Das and Nitin Mirani
were all sold out. So, I cross my fingers and hope that Comedy Shack too will
be well received by the Goan audience. The comedy revival movement in the state
does promise a bright future for this genre as well as comedy artistes in Goa,”
opines Anup.
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Kaif
Sheikh of Comedy Club, an organisation that aims to bring stand-up comedy to
the people of Goa with the best comedians in India, states that the comedy
scene in Goa was very vague when they started around a year ago, but with
a lot of promotion, they managed to get people in tune. “Comedy is something
we’ve always been passionate about. Comedy Club was altogether a really
exciting experience with an amazing positive response; since then
we’ve been doing a lot of private shows as well as bar stand-up nights,” he
adds. Talking about stand-up comedy as the latest trend here, he maintains, “In
Goa, people are always looking out for different sorts of entertainment and
comedy can be a complete stress buster. It definitely stands out being a one of
a kind concept. This year alone I have witnessed a great demand for comedy,
seen a lot of new people venture into this field, and I think it’s splendid!
Hopefully, stand up will create a platform for other genres of comedy as well
as theatre.”
“Five
years ago, when we first put up stand-up comedy in a musical style on the Goan
stage, we received a lukewarm response, which was disheartening,” expresses
Mark Rocha who brought about ‘Twisted Testicles’, a musical comedy with Jeffrey
Manuel. Among the first of the comedians who brought stand-up comedy to Goa,
Mark adds, “At that time, Goa was just waking up to this new genre and thus
wasn’t well-versed with it. However, when we brought back our show for the
second time, the response we received was overwhelming. We had to close the
bookings one week prior, and it felt great!” He feels that Goa, today, has
opened its arms to stand-up comedy, and that’s fantastic news not just for the
local artistes, but for the comedians from all over India who wouldn’t have
dreamed of performing in Goa a few years ago as well. “Comedy always existed in
Goa in the much-loved tiatr. However, stand-up comedy is gaining a great
momentum now and people’s interest in this form of comedy has made it certain
that it has only one way to go. Up!” concludes Mark.
