(Image from Yahoo Singapore)
Should you watch this? Yes.
Duration: About 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission
Dates: 16 Apr (Wed) – 27 Apr (Sun), 2014
Showtimes: Tue 8pm, Thu 8pm, Fri 4pm & 8pm, Sat 4pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm & 6pm
Special notes: If you park at Esplanade and catch the 4pm show, your parking fee will be at least $12 due to Esplanade’s parking charges.
“Happy Ever Laughter” is a comedy that consists of 13 stand-up comic acts of about 10 minutes each. It features Mark Lee, Adrian Pang, Kumar, Selena Tan, Hossan Leong, as well as Pam Oei, Judee Tan, Siti Khalijah, Karen Tan, Fuzz, Rishi Budhrani and Zulkarnain Sadali.
I liked it. I felt there was a common theme of “don’t be so sad lah” that linked the 13 acts together, rather than being individual stand-up comic performances. There was an overall sense of delight at being there as well as references to each other’s acts, without overdoing the mutual ribbing.
So what were the highlights of the show?
(Image from Yahoo Singapore)
It’s ‘feel good‘
Despite the R18 rating and the numerous warnings, there wasn’t as much Singapore bashing as I’d expected. Of course, there were jokes about certain aspects of Singapore, but it felt more like “we’re in this with you” rather than “look how silly it is!” And also, with the common theme of trying to cheer people up (it’s a comedy after all), it had a pretty feel good effect post-performance.
This comedy format worked very well to keep my short attention span focused on the whole performance – with a different act coming out every few minutes, nobody ever overstays their time on the stage (if you’re picky about that sort of thing).
Jokes catered to all levels
Every so often, different groups in the audience would laugh at seemingly random bits of dialogue – which showcased the different levels of humour that were used in the show. It’s great that they didn’t belabour jokes which didn’t have mass appeal, and I appreciated that the material didn’t pander to the lowest common denominator all the time. People come from all walks of life, mirroring the variety of comedy in the performances. And as my viewing partner said – no overused ERP jokes!
Mark Lee’s performance
It was interesting to see Mark Lee given free reign to perform English comedy on stage. It wasn’t completely in English, of course, and he gave a more nuanced and less slapstick performance than what we’re used to seeing on TV. Unexpected but enjoyable. Kudos to that!
Of course, no performance is perfect, and there were some aspects that detracted a little from the comedy.
(Image from Yahoo Singapore)
The set was too bright
It’s a minor quibble, but the contrast and lighting of the set was rather glaring. Maybe I’m not used to this set-up, as I was squinting a fair bit after the intermission. Heads up if you have astig.
Hossan Leong seemed a little subdued
Compared to his previous appearances on TV and stage, Hossan Leong felt a little more controlled and not as animated as usual. His act was still funny, though I’d have preferred if we went with his more animated persona.
It was a pretty good experience (my eyes were watering towards the end) and well worth watching. Go get your tickets, quick!
This post also appeared on Yahoo Singapore.
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