Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor
Left: Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields (left) journeyed to Montego Bay for the show and had some time to chat with Ravi Daswani.
Right: The always radiant Antoinette Chen and daughter Rachel Chen also came out for the comedy show. - CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
MONTEGONIANS GOT a special treat last Saturday night. Canadian Indian comic, Russell Peters, landed in the island bringing with him more than a bellyful of laughter as he headlined a show put on by businessman Aroon Dadlani of Montego Bay. The show, the first in a series planned for the second city, was put on to raise funds for charity and to fill a need for such events in Montego Bay.
The venue was Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall Hotel and began with cocktails under humid skies. A packed ballroom sipped a wide assortment of liquor as Owen 'Blacka' Ellis opened the show.
JOKES
He had guests reeling with laughter as he touched on the often embarrassing way men had to stand and be observed in public urinals (neighbourhood watch) and politics. The gathering would not stop laughing as Ellis redefined Jamaica's three political parties thus: NDM - no damn members; JLP - Jamaicans leaving the party and PNP - Portia not prepared.
He was followed by Jay Martin, a Canadian resident born to Jamaican parents. His routine included cracks at DJ Elephant Man's looks and how Jamaican parents transplanted their culture to Canada. He ended by changing into Indian costume and performing his version of a traditional dance usually executed with far more grace than he did. That went over well.
Russell Peters, the headline act, later told The Gleaner he was a little nervous at first as he tested the waters, but everyone quickly warmed to his deliriously funny routine. This was his first-time performing in Jamaica but he would return to do it again.
His routine which received a request for an encore, took on racial and ethnic issues and revealed the strong influence of the Jamaican and Trinidadian communities on him.
ISSUES TOUCHED
Peters took on one sleeping cop who apparently exhausted from overwork, went to dreamland shortly after the show started. Even with many attempts to wake him, Peters was not successful. But he was both irreverent and bold as he touched issues such as beatings from parents, sexuality among Indians, arranged marriages, oral sex and the differences between language patterns among Jamaicans and Trinidadians.
Fans of Peters have become familiar with his work through downloads from the Internet. He is scheduled to appear on both the David Letterman and Jay Leno shows later this year.
He told The Gleaner he has been making people laugh for a long time and now based in Los Angeles, he performs mainly in clubs and theatres "Two of my favourite comics are Oliver Samuels and Chris Tucker, but I prefer ethnic material because, of the raw material I grew up with."
