While being comedic geniuses does help, Comedy Court’s Indi Nadarajah and Allan Perera’s real strength, when it comes down to it, is their humility and empathy. In the middle of an exclusive interview with Malay Mail,
the two started plugging another show happening at the same time.

 

“Have you seen Cuci the Musical?” asked Indi, excitedly. “I know this is for Comedy Court, but if I can just say this - go and watch Cuci the Musical. It’s brilliant!

“Yes, it was good, it was funny, and we’re not saying this just because we know the actors!” said Allan.

“This is one of the truly Malaysian shows, and we are lucky to have seen it, even though both of us were the only two non-Malays on that night. Really, we should all go and see Cuci the Musical!”

Right. Well, Indi and Allan’s second run of their 1Kind Show is also a truly wonderful Malaysian night of comedy. These two are the epitome of class, wit and timing.

The key? Respect.

While some or most people in the entertainment industry — creative people, in name — are used to saying, “will the audience understand something as smart as this?” or as low as, “... but folks love something this stupid” or even “I dumb myself down for the morons out there”, there are still some who respect their audience. Funnily enough, these people are usually comedians.

You might not notice it, but there is a lot of work that goes into comedy. The art of making people laugh is an extremely complicated endeavour. The simplest of which, is to read the papers.

“We scour through the newspapers with a fine-tooth comb,” said Indi. “Everything is material for us.

“Like today, for instance, Indi sent me a message about the page two of a particular English newspaper,” said
Allan, his partner-in-crime. “And I knew exactly what he was talking about and how we can incorporate that into
our show.”

Indi and Allan first started in 1991, when Allan did the music for an Instant CafeTheatre production, which included Indi as part of the line-up. The two soon became partners in comedic show The Oblong Bar, and have never looked back since.

Recently, they did a soldout performance of the 1Kind Show, proving that they can still be fresh after almost 20
years together. Their act has been hailed as perhaps the best in Malaysia, and there is a growing group of fans from overseas, due to their online approach. As well as respecting their audiences, they also respect each other.

“Our partnership has always been a give-and-take,” said Allan. “ I would set it up for him in some skits, or he
could set it up for me in others. “It’s always important to give each other space,” said Indi. Indi’s love for reading
shows in his acts. Some of the references mentioned in their skits were well-researched indeed, quoting
many sources and things that may have slipped the mind.

It shows a huge respect for their audience. They believe that people actually read the papers and are aware of the issues around them. “I read newspapers and scour the bookshops to find Malaysiana,” said Indi.“I don’t do it for comedy,  but as a responsible citizen of this country, I believe that we should stay informed.

“There are also observations that we make — that is the source for our materials,” said Allan. “ I am also online a lot, so I take into account the culture and stuff people are doing there.

“Observations are also crucial. When you observe things, there are ways to look at things in a comedic way.

“For example, you look at  old people, and man, there is a ton of material there! They get old, and they become
set in their ways. They find a particular hairstyle, a look, a particular food and routine, and they stick to it for decades.”

This exercise in observation is very useful, in particular, when Indi and Allan imitate the slangs and dialects of certain groups to perfection.Their imitation is spot on, as good as Dave Chappelle’s impersonations.

It is also evident when Indi and Allan tackle sensitive issues.The cow’s head protest, for one, was handled in such a manner in their act that it is impossible for anyone to have any kind of reaction except laughter.

This goes for a lot of their content, which features race relations, corruption and other ‘sensitive’ issues. The
difference is that Indy and Allan’s Comedy Court always gets away with saying it. Where others may get imprisoned, they just get bigger and bigger audiences.

“First, is the intention in writing the material,” said Indi. “When we start writing, we are very aware that we are not being malicious about any of our content, that at the end of it, we must empathise and sympathise with the characters.

“It would be harder in a pure stand-up, but since we put our characters in skits, it is simpler to empathise with
them.”

Indi and Allan’s characters are usually caricatures of certain groups — such as politicians or racial stereotypes — and they always relate with them in the end.

“We do not talk down to our characters. We do not hate them,” said Allan. “In the end, we kind of see that
in the same situation, anyone including ourselves might have done the same thing as this or that character.

“Plus, our scripts are vetted by DBKL and the police do come and see our shows.”

Basically, it’s safe and legal.

“We also notice that our act is attracting families. Whole families come and see us,” said Allan.

“We also get some new audiences,” said Indi. “There are a lot of 18 to 24 year olds who got to know our act and are surprised that we can even speak in an authentic Malay accent.

“One of my children’s friends came up to me and asked if I was ‘Indi and Allan’ and told me that we were fantastic! So the new audience is there.”

The discovery of Comedy Court by a newer, younger audience is perhaps helped along by Indi and Allan’s  orays into the Internet.

“I get a lot of things online,” said Allan. “I am also being approached by several parties to put our content online. We are already doing so through our website and YouTube. So far, the response has been surprisingly good.”

Their online presence has been a sleeper hit. Around 62,900 people have seen their YouTube channel, set up merely months ago and their website hits has reached 206,000.

“We also get people from overseas e-mailing us asking about Malaysia,” said Indi.

Well, yes, catch Cuci the Musical and also Indi and Allan’s second run of 1Kind Show at Palace of the Golden Horses starting Nov 4 and 5 and Nov 9 till13.

It is basically the same show as last month’s soldout affair, but with a few tweaks. For one, the duration has been cut down to fit into two hours — the last run was close to three hours.

Tickets are on sale at RM80/RM100/RM120. Each ticket is inclusive of a free drink. Purchase the ticket and you also stand to get 20 per cent off your bill on the day of the show from Carousel Cafe Restaurant, Kim Ma Chinese Restaurant or Kin No Uma Japanese restaurant as well as Sagar. For more information, call 03-8946
4888 ext 4924, 012-925 5486 or 012-925 5391.

For show details and enquiries, go to www.comedycourt.com.my.