Putting a comic spin on Father’s Day, which is tomorrow, Chennai Comedy presents Laugh off at Backyard, a stand-up show featuring a group of comics who want to take a dig at dads. “The main objective of a themed show is to use the subject being performed as a hook to invite audiences. You sell the concept, as opposed to a comic,” explains Sudarshan Ramamurthy, from Chennai Comedy, a platform aimed at promoting stand-up across the city.
Widening the spectrum
The first wave of stand-up comics in India — think Sorabh Pant, Kanan Gill, Aravind SA and Aditi Mittal — made a splash. But for successors, competition is very stiff. While it is the big names that draw large crowds, themed shows help bring in new audiences for emerging artists.
“When there’s a specific theme, a new crowd comes in,” shares Akshaya Chittybabu, co-founder of Backyard, which has been hosting stand-up comedy for over a year. “We usually see a recurring crowd when the show is marketed based on the artiste performing,” he shares.
“We had a family of three in our last show, and it was clear that the parents hadn’t watched live stand-up comedy before,” says Ramamurthy. “When the comic talked about not being able to understand his wife, the woman of the family spoke up and said, ‘Let me show you a WhatsApp forward I received about this’. They weren’t heckling; they were just being earnest. These are the people we want to bring into the audience spectrum,” he shares.
Manoj Prabakar
Performing for parents
City-based comic Manoj Prabakar, presenting the closing performance for the evening, says theme-based shows place some pressure on the comic to write content revolving around a specific subject, like Father's Day. “Most comics taking the stage now are in their 20s. The way they look at comedy is very different from those in our parents’ generation. So it’s often difficult to crack an older crowd,” he shares.
In 2016, Bengaluru-based Arnav Rao quit his career as a lawyer in the Madras High Court to pursue stand-up comedy full time. “Since my father is currently paying my rent, I don’t think I should make jokes about him,” chuckles Rao, who will be hosting the show. “As a host, your job profile shifts a little. You need to break the room to warm up the audience for the performing comics, and if someone doesn’t do well, it’s your job to bring the energy back to the room. As a comedian, one of the skill sets you develop is to gauge the room and improvise accordingly. The beauty of stand-up comedy is that you can lie, embellish and exaggerate for effect,” he adds.
Laugh off at Backyard starts at 7.30 pm on June 16. Tickets, priced at ₹250, are available on bookmyshow.com
