Double trouble puts two comics at odds
Banks ‘out of touch’ with Karou’s fans
A SPAT between comedians is behind the cancellation of Karou Charou’s and Mark Banks’s Double Trouble.
Banks was to have performed with Sagren Moodley’s alter ego in Chatsworth and Umhlanga this weekend but has pulled out after their first performance sparked a war of words between his management and Moodley.
The disagreement began when Moodley decried Banks’s performance at the Sunford Hall show in Phoenix on November 7.
“Boasting over 25 years in the industry, Mark Banks is described by his agent, John Vlismas, as an award-winning comic with a brilliant track record,” Moodley said in a press statement. “Regrettably, this counted for nothing. He was poor, to say the least, causing some audience members to heckle him, while others chose to walk out.”
On Sunday last week, a post appeared on the Karou Charou Facebook page reading: “Banks in Trouble So Neville Steps in on the Double.” It added that “Mark doesnt know how to please an indian audience. Chuffed that [comedian] Neville [Pillay] and i will share the stage again, kicking it Charou Style.”
Moodley said in an interview that he meant Banks no harm.
Banks’s manager Taffia Keight confirmed that the comedian had been heckled, but not because of a poor performance. “Mark Banks has been performing for 25 years-plus, so he knows how to handle all audiences and all hecklers,” said Keight.
“To judge his performance is quite rich coming from somebody who hasn’t got a fraction of his experience.”
She said the entertainment company she co-owns with Vlismas, Whacked, had agreed to do the shows with Moodley “at a drastically reduced fee”, and many in the audience had been given complimentary tickets.
“Sagren had sold minimal tickets to his show and comped about 200 tickets. So there were about 200-odd people in the audience.
“When you’ve got
a comped-out show, those people are freeloaders. So there was heckling, there was a lot of talking and they weren’t interested in comedy.
“Mark did his performance and there were hecklers, but it was a like a club gig with only a few paying patrons at an event in a school hall.
“It’s hardly the sort of venue that Mark is used to — he performs in theatres. Mark did the show and told us that it was appalling and it wasn’t very well organised.”
She said e-mail and SMS arguments had followed the first show in which they had told Moodley that he had not marketed it sufficiently.
Two shows, one at Arena Park Hall in Chatsworth and Krakatoa nightclub at Sibaya Casino in Umhlanga this weekend, were initially cancelled.
“We made the decision that Mark won’t do those shows, but before everything was formalised, Sagren went ahead saying he was suffering damages,” said Keight.
Moodley has denied her claims.
Pillay, who was to replace Banks this weekend, said he was not aware of the disagreement. “It’s an honour to be asked to fill in for Mark Banks,” he said.