2 + 2 = 3
Earlier today I went with my girlfriend to watch Selena Tan and Hossan Leong's stand-up comedy routine, It Takes Two. We love Tan's mile-a-minute camp in her annual Dim Sum Dollies shows, and were expecting nothing less from her pairing with Singapore theatre's resident funnyman.
Unfortunately, Tan and Leong proved to be less than the sum of their parts. While their on-stage chemistry made for good comic timing, this chemistry seemed to arise more out of their experience as performers than out of genuine telepathy.
I was primarily disappointed by the quality of the material: the same old potshots at the government; the tired lampooning of filipino accents; unfunny self-deprecating fat and gay jokes (about Selena and Hossan respectively); predictable jibes at Singaporean mannerisms (using tissue packets to reserve tables at food centres etc); many of which I anticipated half a beat before their punchlines. Even Tan's original musical numbers--which shone with her trademark wit and melodic sensibilities--weren't anything we couldn't already expect from her far-superior Dim Sum Dollies shows.
Having said that, one can't fault the two actors for not knowing their audience. If I found most of the material unengaging, it's probably because I'm the kind of person who intellectualises certain experiences beyond the point of humour. Other audience members seemed far more appreciative of Tan and Leong's efforts. I did, however, enjoy the verve with which the comedians hammed their performances. And I know that stand-up comedy is by far the trickiest performance genre to pull off successfully.
The one thing I connected with was a serendipitous sequence about travelling alone, with specific reference being made to New York. In talking about tourist maps, Tan made this quip about how New York City is the only place in the world where you can't be seen not knowing where you're going. I turned to my girlfriend and we exchanged knowing smiles.
Unfortunately, Tan and Leong proved to be less than the sum of their parts. While their on-stage chemistry made for good comic timing, this chemistry seemed to arise more out of their experience as performers than out of genuine telepathy.
I was primarily disappointed by the quality of the material: the same old potshots at the government; the tired lampooning of filipino accents; unfunny self-deprecating fat and gay jokes (about Selena and Hossan respectively); predictable jibes at Singaporean mannerisms (using tissue packets to reserve tables at food centres etc); many of which I anticipated half a beat before their punchlines. Even Tan's original musical numbers--which shone with her trademark wit and melodic sensibilities--weren't anything we couldn't already expect from her far-superior Dim Sum Dollies shows.
Having said that, one can't fault the two actors for not knowing their audience. If I found most of the material unengaging, it's probably because I'm the kind of person who intellectualises certain experiences beyond the point of humour. Other audience members seemed far more appreciative of Tan and Leong's efforts. I did, however, enjoy the verve with which the comedians hammed their performances. And I know that stand-up comedy is by far the trickiest performance genre to pull off successfully.
The one thing I connected with was a serendipitous sequence about travelling alone, with specific reference being made to New York. In talking about tourist maps, Tan made this quip about how New York City is the only place in the world where you can't be seen not knowing where you're going. I turned to my girlfriend and we exchanged knowing smiles.
posted by The Empty Signifier @ 5/08/2005 01:31:00 pm
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hi surya,
Thanks for your comments! You flatter me :)
1) Apparently, my "Publish Site Feed" setting is already "yes". The feed is here: http://emptysignifier.blogspot.com/atom.xml
2) I admit sentence the is rather clumsy. What I meant was this: in NYC, everyone seems to know where they're going. First-time tourists, however, may be a little lost. Looking lost is okay anywhere else in the world because people everywhere else do look lost at times...but not in NYC, where everyone seems to know where they're going(!!)
The knowing smiles were from knowing that I'll be finding myself in that situation in a few days.
3) You were alone in New York for a month? Wow =) Can I contact you for some travel tips? ;) You can email me at emptysignifier@gmail.com and we can start an email exchange from there. Cheers!
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