The Joke Factory

After several attempts (on their team's part) to comp me tickets, I finally found an excuse to check out Harith Iskander's The Joke Factory (rest of the family were attending wedding dinners and I didn't really want to stay home alone and watch my usual stories) at Publika. So I snagged myself a free ticket from Stubapp to watch One Mic Stand co-runner Prakash Daniel finally do a weekend headline show.

I got there before 8 p.m., got a wrist band from the box office. Since the ticket was already comped, the least I should do is eat and drink there. 

As the adjoining F&B (Joke & Lok) is a burger joint, I decided to try one out. How that went, I'll save for a different post.

As I was digging in, people were making their way inside. 

By the time I made it inside, I almost couldn't find a seat because it was like 95% full, and the staff were still getting more seats and tables. I'm sure it violated some fire safety regulation. 

So ended up on a high chair along the wall, which was a small blessing in disguise because I had an unobstructed view of the stage and wasn't staring at the back of some rando's head. The only snag was the staff kept running across in front of me to collect and take orders as the show was going on. Because I had no where to put a drink down, I was like, fuck this and didn't order a second drink. I actually used the 10 minute break to stretch my legs and use the bathroom. 

Except for the night's host (Zainal), the rest of the lineup were local Indian comics, some of whom I've seen at the open mic shows. Those guys were funny.

I'm glad Prakash has enough material to do an hour after about 6 years in the business. I know he's damn funny because he's usually pretty funny in his hosting duties. [I'm one of those people that usually starts looking at their phone the moment I hear a familiar setup (sorry!)]. The way he dealt with the hecklers in front (in this case, a group of Indian ladies of questionable sobriety who either dunno how to behave at a comedy show or had wanted to be part of the show) was commendable. 

As people were leaving, the staff were giving people who had to sit along the walls complimentary coupons to any show in December (apparently some of the groups didn't get tables or decent seats or something to that effect). Even me, and I was there by myself. Can't complain.

If I was to go back again, it'll probably be not on a weeknight (because apparently it's RM20 flat rate or something like that vs. RM5 flat rate on weekends and public holidays).