From the advertising of the show The Alternative Laughstyler and the exotic sounding name of Maha, you could walk into this show expecting a performance based on new age philosophies and other forms of alternative culture. This image was even reinforced at the beginning of the show with his transformation into a ‘Humour Alchemist’ by changing into a kimono but as soon as he spoke you soon realized that he was a most unlikely guru. What followed was a hilarious presentation about the life of a slacker.
Maha employed title cards to introduce the sections of his show, namely ‘Me’, Work, TV, Drugs, War and Love. In each he presented his collection of routines that illustrated his unique view of the world which included plenty of gentle self deprication and a number of groan inducing puns. His tales had a foot in both the everyday and the absurd that gave it a slightly unhinged quality. The material stuck to the topics firmly while allowing him space to adlib when required. The drugs topic seemed to be the longest one and sometimes came dangerously close to being a collection drug stories only funny to other users. Fortunately he was able to broaden their appeal by including some clever and amusing theories about drug culture and society.
Keeping with the slacker theme, his performance was appropriately static with Maha standing behind the microphone while constantly adjusting his kimono. He worked in some moments of audience banter which derailed his script slightly, but this added an interesting looseness that fitted in with his extremely casual nature. His animated vocal delivery betrayed his laziness somewhat by being rather upbeat and he genuinely appeared to be enjoying himself on stage. He suprisingly broke into several moments of high energy by some off his physical prowess and executing a blatantly self indulgent dance number.
In addition to his straight stand up Maha made the brave decision to sing some songs accapella. His opening number was a mildly amusing parody that began the show in a slightly awkward manner and highlighted a not overly strong singing voice. His closing number was the complete opposite. It was a lovely song that, while not humourous in content, seemed to suit his voice and left the audience with a warm and fuzzy feeling.
This show was a wonderful hour in the company of a lovable scamp. He kept the audience in stitches and left them with smiles on their faces.
Visit the St Kilda Laughs website for booking details.