A festival of laughs
> This year’s LOL Fest will feature 50 comedians from all over the world as well as improv and vaudeville acts
IF YOU enjoyed last year’s LOL Fest, you’re going to love the one this year that’s happening from March 24 to April 15. Back for its second instalment, Kuala Lumpur’s craziest comedy festival is set to play for three weeks compared to last year’s 10day show.
The event will feature some 50 comedians, improv acts, vaudevillian silent comedy and Laugh-a-thon sessions held at three main venues.
Organised by LOL Events and supported by Malaysia Major Events (MME), the laugh marathon will be headlined by Japanese slapstick duo Gamarjobat, the iconic Kumar from Singapore, and Malaysia’s queen of comedy Joanne Kam.
The event will also host a broad mix of established and up-and-coming local and international comedy performers.
Speaking at a recent press conference at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, LOL Events chief executive officer Rizal Kamal said the company has worked hard to establish a platform to support emerging and renowned talents in the region, and the ultimate goal is to build the festival to be a premier comedy event in Asia. “Comedy in Malaysia is growing really fast, and people have more diverse tastes now,” said Rizal. “In terms of comedy, we are more choosy and we pick the shows we want [to watch] according to our taste.” Also present at the press conference were MME general manager Tony Nagamaiah, Berjaya Times Square Hotel area general manager Mondi Mecja as well as performers Kam and Kumar. Kam said: “I’ve done comedy for almost 20 years. It’s very interesting to see how Asia, and Malaysia in particular, have evolved in terms of comedy. “When I was performing in Singapore [back then], we didn’t have access to the internet, and there was no laptop. We would raid all the bookshops in Singapore for all the joke books.”
See what Kam has prepared this time for her Superkam Ultra show at klpac, from March 24 to 26, with Malaysian comedian Papi Zak playing host.
Kam will be leading an allfemale line-up comprising Malaysia’s princess of comedy Shamaine Othman, Singapore’s standup comedian Sharul Channa, Malaysia’s notorious Bibi K. Poh, and recent addition Hannan Azlan, the winner of the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival 2016.
Meanwhile, fans can get a taste of Kumar’s signature caustic wit and cross-dressing act at his KumarSutra show at the HGH Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur from March 30 to 31.
Kumar said: “It (the show) is going to be a bit different because I realised there is so much sadness going on [in the world].
“I would like to let people know that I didn’t have a good background also, [and] that they are not alone … we are all not born rich – it’s [all] hard work.
“A lot of people are very depressed [but] ... if you believe in yourself, you can get somewhere.
“And there’s going to be a major surprise [in my show] which I’ve never done before in Kuala Lumpur.”
Another festival highlight is silent comedy act Gamarjobat from Japan starring two of Japan’s biggest comedians.
Ketch! with his trademark red mohawk and Hiro-Pon with his yellow mohawk will entertain audiences of all ages with their award-winning energetic act at the HGH Convention Centre on April 8 and 9.
And for the first time, the festival will also feature performers from the Magners International Comedy Festival, the largest comedy roadshow touring Asia which will culminate with its finale in Malaysia.
Other shows not to be missed at the LOL @ Live House include:
Improv Battle presenting AIIA (Artificially Intelligent: Improvholics Anonymous) of Malaysia versus POTB (Pirates of Tokyo Bay) of Japan from March 31 to April 1;
The Roast of Superheroes led by local comedians Brian Tan, Kavin Jay, Keren Bala Devan, Papi Zak, Phoon Chi Ho, and Prakash Daniel from April 5 to 6;
Bite Me! a food-eatingcompetition featuring Kavin Jay, Papi Zak, and American magiciancomedian Justin Rivera on April 7; and
Mo Fattitude led by Indonesian comedian and actor Mo Sidik from April 13 to 14.
Capping off the entire event is the Laugh-a-thon, a hysterical grand finale split into three different sessions and running for six hours on April 15 at LOL @ Live House.
Some 30 local and international comedians will be taking part in this Laugh-a-thon which promises an entirely different stand-up comedy experience.
For more, visit the LOL Fest website or LOL Events Facebook.