Local comedy set to let it rip with the best
DYNAMIC comedy duo, Mervyn and Neville Pillay come together for a show aptly titled Don’t Pillay With Us this month.
One half of the comedy pair, Mervyn Pillay, shared what’s in store for audience members.
Born and bred in Durban’s Victoria Street, Pillay called this his home for many years. “I attended The Surat Hindu Primary School in Prince Edward Street and the Gandhi Desai Manilal Valjee High School in Greyville,” he said.
Pillay started out doing many Bollywood shows before branching into mainstream comedy. In the early 1990s he participated in musical shows and toured with musical groups and singers where he danced and performed mimicry of Indian film stars. Pillay said, “I started looking for something different.
“Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and India’s Johnny Lever had a major influence on my career and inspired me to become a comedian. I started blending the mimicry with the conventional stand-up comedy, adding a touch of voice impressions.”
The result, was his unique brand of comedy. “Because of my love for dance I started adding body language to my routines. I also performed dance imitations of Bollywood film stars where I would exaggerate the movements to give it a comedic feel,” he said. Today, Pillay regards comedy to be his “part-time full-time job”.
“I am my own boss, so I can book me off sick any time, sleep in some days, however I would like to reiterate that comedy is hard work, you have to work at it, so when I am not performing I am writing and thinking of new concepts.
“Durban is home to many established and emerging comedians, so to be part of this new generation of comedians is exciting and challenging at the same time.”
Finding the humour in more serious matters, Pillay said, “People are too tense to laugh at natural stereotyping, we spend too much time trying to be politically correct.
“What makes us great as the human race is that we have so many cultures, so there’s no harm in seeing the funny in different cultures as long it’s not malicious and conniving. “We comedians sometimes draw the line and deliberately cross it.
I do not like mocking people, for me it is bullying camouflaged.
“I don’t make fun of people in the audience because I don’t know what that individual has been through in life, I just want to entertain and make people happy or just maybe I’m afraid to get klapped.”
Fuelled by his passion for performing live, Pillay said, “I must concede that it’s the audience’s feedback that brings out the fire in me. I love to see people in our beautiful country, irrespective of race, creed, religion and gender, cry with laughter. It makes my job so rewarding and makes me proud of what I do. I respect all the people that make an effort to reach into their pockets and support homegrown performing arts.”
Working off each other’s unique senses of humour and spirited stage presence, the pair offer variety.
“Neville and I have different styles of delivery and concepts, that’s where the variety comes through, because we also don’t want the audience to get a double dosage of the same thing.
“When we are on stage together, we feed off each other’s energy, and keep the flow and the timing which gives us this fantastic comedic rhythm.
“Expect an evening of nosecrinkling laughter. Laughter in abundance – imitations, impressions, parodies and audience interaction. In this show you will witness Neville and myself giving of our best, to the fullest,” said Pillay.
The show wil be staged at 3pm on April 30 at the izulu Theatre, Sibaya Casino. Tickets, at R120, are available from Computicket. – Sacha van Niekerk