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I Couldn’t Feel My Face After Watching Stand-up Comedy

Article by Marie Modesto / Graphics by Gian Ferrer

I’ve watched my fair share of stand-up comedy, but I’ve never seen a wittier comic that can come up with jokes faster than the Flash can run. Russell Peters, the famous Indian-Canadian comic performed a show in PICC Plenary hall last March 10, 2018, as part of his Asian leg for the Deported World Tour. From the first second up to the last, Russell Peters never failed to deliver on his promise on a night of laughter.

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True to his famous style of interacting with his audience, the show started with Russell getting to know his showgoers. His first casualty, Alex, a Spanish 40-year-old who was sitting in the very first row caught Peters’ eye. He quickly became the first victim as he revealed his nationality, referring to him as “leftover” from the Spanish Colonization. Soon after, Russell quickly fell into the rhythm, churning out joke after joke like a well-oiled machine.

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Like GB Labrador, the homegrown comic who competed in Melbourne’s International Comedy Festival in 2016, Peters’ sourced his material in an average joe’s day to day life. As he let loose some punchlines on his interactions with his doctors while getting an Endoscopy, showgoers felt a sense of familiarity in the awkwardness of it all. Like any good comic, Russell was well researched in terms of the Filipino humor. He was quick to come up with material that tickled the Filipino audience like Bumbai jokes, some references to 5-6, and mentions of our beloved president Duterte.

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The world-renowned comic ended his show with his classic tales from India. Growing up in Canada, he had to rediscover his Indian roots. Spoiler alert: It ensued a lot of mishaps and adventures that translated into good stories.

Overall, the show was such a blast! Laughter was echoing around PICC Plenary Hall throughout the duration of the show. I could feel that my facial muscles were thoroughly exercised from laughing and smiling as I could feel a dull ache by the time the lights came on.