Review – “Fresh off the Plane” Karachi comes together for a night of laughter
The previous weekend the people of Karachi gathered at the MAD (Music, Art and Dance) School for a night of comedy. Though the space was a bit small for the number of people who showed up but despite the heat the room was soon filled with thunderous laughter as the man of the hour, Shehzad Ghais Sheikh put up an amazing performance. It did not take long for the audience to fall in love with Shehzad Ghais. His joked about a wide variety of things, including celebrity impersonations, certain aspects of our Desi culture, known public figures such as Aamir Liaquat, and even Junaid Jamshed. For me it was the first time I have been to a stand-up comedy and to put it simply, I was soon in tears from laughing so much.
Initially, Shehzad’s act was only scheduled for one Saturday night, 13th June but due to the (not surprising) overwhelmingly positive response from the audience, a second show was held on the following Sunday night, 14th June as well.
Before the main show, a small segment was performed by Hassan Bin Shaheen, another aspiring comedian. His performance served to set the mood for the rest of the night and what was to follow. From the very first minute, his hilarious comparisons between two of Karachi’s most famous areas, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Defence, filled the whole room with a lively and vibrant energy and by the time Shehzad came onto the stage, the audience was already pumped up for more.
He interaction with the audience and improvisation was very well done. His humorous one-liners had everyone rocking back and forth on their seats. He engaged with the audience so well. It was immensely wonderful to bear witness to Shehzad’s patriotic zeal, as at one point he requested everybody in the audience to join him in singing Dil Dil Pakistan and the audience was happy to oblige, That for me was perhaps the best part of the show. There’s never a wrong time to express a little love for our beautiful country!
I found it pretty amazing how well they carried out the whole night when they such limited space but honestly I believe everyone was oblivious to the heat and cramped spacing, even the members of the audience who were sitting on the wooden floors seemed happy to just be there.I know I was! The hour and a half allotted for the show flew by for me. Even after it ended I was wishing for more. Amazing how fast time flies by when you’re a good time.
All in all I thought, Fresh off the Plane was a complete and total success, providing us Karachites, who open our newspapers every morning to some new tale of death or destruction happening in the city, with a night filled with smiles and raucous laughter. Shehzad is expected to perform again on a much larger scale after the month of Ramadhan, no doubt that show will be sold-out just as quickly as well. His performance definitely seemed to strike a chord with audience. It is a relief for everyone, I think, to tear oneself away from one’s worries to come together and share in a good laugh. I do believe that laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects!