JOHN VLISMAS TAKES ONE MAN STAND-UP COMEDY TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Politics, religion, age, sex, race and prejudice are subjects you’d expect to hear about in any comedian’s routine, but it’s the punch (and expletives) with which they’re delivered that sets John Vlismas apart from the rest.
This bolshie comedy veteran’s ‘Revelations’ shows on 23 and 24 May really took things up a notch. He hit a new level of ‘OMG, did he really just say that’ with his diss of rhinos that ‘deserve extinction because they simply can’t keep up’ and his private ‘roast’ of president Jacob Zuma, which was hilarious in a ‘surely this show is going to be banned’ kind of a way. He’s one of those guys who takes one or two jokes just that little too far – and his audiences love him for it.
The show’s technical design was also on a whole new level of ‘wow, that’s super impressive’, with floating LED screens switching from one cool illustrative tattoo-like design to another – and colourful lighting posing a strong contrast to John’s dark material. His minimalistic but clever use of props sets the standard for one-man shows, proving that you don’t need gimmicky set-design to get the audience’s attention.
But the level that best describes John’s routine and his audience’s receptiveness to it, is his level of understanding of what resonates best with his fans. Insight. Reality. Human Truth. And the sheer balls to say it like it is.
Themed on the apocalypse, ‘Revelations’ saw John taking jabs at the Mayans, creating laughs about the fiery depths of a world coming to an end, and getting the audience to deliberate the likeliness of preferring hell over heaven as it’ll have better music.
Citing Revelations as a ‘razor sharp rampage, a stand-up monster tap dancing across your mind’, this was an intimate show that was all about the jokes, and everyone loved it.
“Revelations” – Sacred Cow Apocalypse took place at The Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City on 23 and 24 May 2014.
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