If nothing else is guaranteed by citizens of T&T, you can bet your last dollar that you can find humour in the most serious of circumstances. Just the mention of six names-Peter Joseph, Learie Joseph, Tommy Joseph, Darren Mendoza, Delores Alexander and Kenneth Seepersad-and I'm sure you've caught the gist.
It was an almost sold-out auditorium at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain, on October 29, when members of the Randy Glasgow Productions hosted the State of Emergency (SOE) Comic Relief Tour featuring Learie Joseph.
The show wasn't so much about the state of emergency, although some quick jabs were thrown at the current national state of affairs.MC Tommy Joseph, who by all means is a veteran in the comedy arena, occasionally waivers in his ability to keep a crowd amused. But on that evening the comedian was firing on all cylinders. Peter Joseph presented himself as a Pakistani waiter in one session, and then did a stand-up routine.
Learie Joseph, joined by Delores Alexander and Darren Mendoza delivered much needed comic relief in various skits packed with punchlines and parental advice. This time around, Learie's usual primary schoolboy character ended up being carted off by his mother to a session with a psychologist for his rude behaviour. Before you knew it, he was giving advice to the doctor, who also had family problems.
But if there was a device to determine the number of laughs acquired and loudness and frequency of the laughs, Mendoza would have undisputedly topped the list. Like the rest of the cast, Mendoza played the roles of several characters. But the one that seemed to have everyone in stitches was that of the drunk man. With his slurred speech, hiccups and tripping over himself, he was truly in character.
The show is definitely a must-see for adults.