Showbiz: Big in laughs, big in fun

What say you on the issue below?

Harith Iskander

Close pals Harith Iskander and Joanne Kam believe that “big is beautiful”. Big in laughs and big in fun, that is. The duo are representing the country in the annual Kings And

Queen Of Comedy Asia 2, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, this Friday and Saturday.
It is the show’s second year in Kuala Lumpur. Last year, Harith represented Malaysia with fellow funnyman Douglas Lim.

“I’ve always been a fan of Joanne’s outrageous humour. It’s guaranteed to tickle you pink,” says Harith.

“Harith is a keen observer of local life and he always brings out the laugh-out-loud side of every event, personality and place,” says Kam.
In the comedy showcase organised by LOL Events, Kam and Harith will be joined by international comedians Sugar Sammy (Canada), Paul Ogata (United States) and Vivek Mahbubani (Hong Kong). Kam is the show’s queen amongst four kings and the host.

“Since I’m the host, I’m going to come in lots of dresses, my trademark style,” says Kam. “As the glue that holds the four kings together, I’ll have beautiful, glamorous dancers escort them from the backstage.”

True to her Big Is Beautiful motto, Kam will have four escorts per king, instead of one. “I may even have eight for Harith since he represents the host country,” she says.

Harith, who will be a ‘big daddy’ soon, promises new comedic material. “So much has happened here and in the United States that there’s a gold mine of raw, comedy material for me to tap to the max,” he says. “And for the first time, I’ll be wearing lots and lots of wigs, like Joanne.”

But he will not be doing drag. “Too bad Harith won’t be a diva. Maybe next time,” says Kam.

Harith is a big fan of Ogata, whom he describes as a man with a twisted sense of humour.

“We met in Singapore, when this show was staged there last Oct 28 and 29 at The Esplanade. He’s a natural funnyman who lays bare his insecurities, recounts his marital foibles and hammers on world events,” says Harith.

Ogata famously won the United States’ TakeOut Comedy Competition in 2004 and joined the San Francisco International Comedy Competition, putting him in an exclusive club with the likes of Dana Carvey and Sinbad.

Kam is looking forward to meeting Mahbubani.

“He’s the first Indian comedian I know who’s Chinese to the core. He’ll be a blast for sure,” she says.

Mahbubani has won stand-up comedy competitions in Chinese and English in Hong Kong. He hosts shows at the TakeOut Comedy Club (the first full-time comedy club in Asia).

He enjoys pleasantly shocking the audience by throwing in his fluent Cantonese on English sets and vice versa. He has also acted in Hong Kong comedy movies such as All’s Well, Ends Well 2009.

Kam and Harith liken Sammy to an ultra-funny Datuk Shah Rukh Khan, owing to his good looks and resemblance of the Bollywood leading man.

“I met Sammy some years ago. He’s like a rock star and has sold out shows in English, French, Punjabi and Hindi. He usually delivers laconic, universal insights on multi-cultural societies,” says Kam.

Harith says each king has 20 minutes of comedy time, and Kam will entertain the audience in between segments.

“It’ll be a cabaret-like setting, a vintage Joanne presentation,” he says. “While there is no surprise guest artiste, the show itself will have lots of surprises.”