THOSE INDIAN GUYS 2

Mischievous and chaotic entertainment provides an escape from daily dilemmas. (Review by Viresh Prahalath)

With one more performance to go at Suncoast tomorrow, Those Indian Guys 2 is an over-the-top, hilarious show that delivers comedy in an extremely high dose at every turn. Intended mainly for mature and young adult audiences, the show delivers an explosion of absurdly funny one-liners in various skits that draw humour from almost every demographic stereotype in South Africa, especially the local Indian population.

The show opens with a comical colloquial rap song created by the duo which is pre-emptive to the uproarious mayhem about to be released. Audiences get to see a wide range of absurd yet somewhat true characterisations on stage. What exactly does an old Indian women next door pack before going to the beach? What does the Morningside white neighbour think of a “unique” Indian braai she recently witnessed and how exactly does an Indian aunty mark her pots so that no-one can claim them?

Sans Moonsamy and Kaseran Pillay are powerful, energetic performers who know how to entertain a crowd. Their ability to mimic accents and situations is superb. It is the startling clarity of these imitations within the zany situations in which they place their characters that offer a winning formula.

Like most comedy shows there is a fair deal of audience interaction. Audience members will experience the occasional, familiar please don’t pick me feeling as the performers look for “volunteers”. Unfortunately, you are not always asked to opt in as they tend to drag you onto set, especially if you are one of the suspects that the police on stage are looking for! A word of advice: being picked to go up on stage would be more suited to someone who has a large funny bone, perhaps one as large as the giant artificial phallus that was placed on one unsuspecting audience member’s head. All in good humour, of course.

The consistently high energy level of the show is maintained for its hour and a half duration. It sometimes borders on crass, with a few spurts of toilet humour which could have been edited out. It could also benefit from an intermission which would allow audience members to recharge and take a break from the aurally stimulating, ecstatic nature of the performance.

A commendable feature of Those Indian Guys 2 is that costume choices regularly cross gender boundaries, but are not always solely relied upon to draw out humour. Instead, humour is brought about by a usually good combination of writing and acting as well as costume.

Kaseran Pillay is a remarkable comedian and actor whose finished product in this show varies greatly from his movie role in Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past where his full talents as a live performer aren’t showcased. It would be interesting to see what crazy, hilarious offerings he has in store once the current, familiar trend of laughing at Indian stereotypes has passed.

Those Indian Guys 2 is a greatly amusing show that grabs your attention and does not let go that easily. It is great, mischievous and chaotic entertainment providing an effective escape from daily dilemmas. It would be advisable to leave all sensitivities (and your children!) at home as the performers are neither delicate nor extremely diplomatic in their characterisations.

Those Indian Guys 2 Bigger & Browner have one more performance tomorrow (June 3) at 16h00. Tickets R120 booked through Computicket. For more information contact Suncoast on 031 328 3000 or visit www.suncoastcasino.co.za