LOL Waalay tickle a rather stiff Karachi audience

Troupe's comeback show was an entertaining adventure of sorts

KARACHI:

It is hard to make people laugh, even harder to do so without a script, but it is hardest to make them give up their own selves for the sake of others’ jest. It gets even more difficult if the audience has travelled all the way from the various bayabaans of DHA into a creative community space located in the thick, secluded valley of Korangi Industrial area, that too after sunset.

As a friend had said, “It's plain old gentrification by the elite.” I disagreed. I think he was giving too much thought to the matter. The space, known as District 19, will eventually serve as an alternate for DHA commoners who can’t go to Balochistan (read: Kund Malir) to get really happy and then really sad the next morning, for this prime location will always promise adventure first and entertainment later.

Staying true to the vibe of the place, the host of the night, comedian Akbar Chaudhry, made sure he reminded the audience that they can get mugged outside, especially if they didn’t participate fully in what was going on to be the improv troupe LOL Waalay’s comeback after two years. And since some charm of Akbar’s humour comes out of his straight face and curly hair, the random mention of mugging was cute and disturbing at the same time. If you thought it was the latter then you need to attend their shows more frequently and also plan an escapade outside District South.

The evolution of LOL Waalay is the coming of age of Karachi’s middle to upper-middle-class humour that does not associate itself with the Umer Sharif and Shakeel Siddiqui tradition at the Fleet Club, nor is it the continuation of what started with Saad Haroon and Black Fish. Yes, they were very much the pioneers of improv in Pakistan, but LOL Waalay and before that Aisa Karoge Tau Kon Ayega took the same formula forward in a deliberate attempt to de-class humour. So much so that over the years their humour has almost become elite ragging with the authority and self-awareness of a Ranchor line passerby, full of comebacks, waiting to be triggered.

But since the troupe composition has members who have mostly studied in all-boys schools and been exposed to, if not lived, outside the bayabaans, their ragging of the elite comes off as authentic and not spiteful anymore. This sense of self-actualisation, whether conscious or accidental is perhaps the troupe’s biggest achievement and also the highlight of their comeback.

The troupe comprises Syed Muhammad Kumail, Ali Gul Pir, Syed Osama Sami, Sannan Wastani and Akbar Choudhry with each of them bringing their own to the table. Pir, thanks to his comedy sketches and the various characters he plays on Tiktok and Instagram sync videos, is now the star of the show, so much so that people never vote for him to leave even he hasn’t been the best of actors during the sketch. His rise through satirical music and comeback through plain old action-based comedy is a lesson for other aspiring comedians too afraid to bring their backbencher’s jest to the front. Chaudhry too is a sensation of sorts; his videos on YouTube are nothing less of a riot.

While they are the crowd pullers, the remaining trio is what makes the crowd stay. Sami is as animated as any improv artist should be and his rather short height and husky voice makes for a tremendous performer with great potential as an actor too. Wastani is a man with an everyman personality. If all of the LOL Waalay contest local bodies elections, Wastani will win by a margin due to his believability factor; voters will believe his lies while knowing that he is lying. His level of self-awareness and spontaneity is what any performer would dream about but then oftentimes both he and Kumail get so much into their characters that they are too hard to contain, and the pattern repeats itself.

Kumail is the truly fascinating aspect of the troupe. He is an Urdu speaker who blows the brains out of Urdu-speaking elitism. He identifies as belonging to the Shia sect, using the majlis as a source of jokes in his stand-up. He is truly what Karachi’s perpetual anxiety can cook if you have lived here for long enough and seen it all, yet have the ability to laugh about it.

LOL Waalay’s comeback performance was worth the two thousand rupees but in the last game, the closing act got dragged a little when Chaudhry was taking the audience participant’s history. Yes, Asad’s story was quite boring but then the audience members are usually confused and boring and it is the troupe’s job to make their stories interesting without giving the audience a chance to blink. So, in case some members were left with a bittersweet aftertaste, it’s because of the final act. Perhaps the troupe can do with a different last game.

As for District 19, It's a great space for improv with no pillars or beams blocking the view, but I’ll stick to my guns until and unless the roads leading to the venue have enough lights and some sort of commercial activity around. Until then, it will be an adventure first and entertainment second.