For Mervyn Rozz, being a comedian is all about bringing originality and maintaining consistency in delivering a great show. Hence, the growing face of the Tamil stand-up scene is embarking on his first national solo tour called Mervyn Rozz Moving On. Kicking it off this weekend with the first show of the tour in Chennai, we get hold of the funnyman and learn about his journey to becoming a stand-up comic, what the tour is all about and more in a candid chat.
Also read: Theatre taught me discipline and how to be in the moment: Standup comedian Shankar Chugani
Moving On, as Mervyn puts it, is a vibrant reflection of his intention to leave a mark on the audience. He hopes for the audience to truly indulge in the show’s subjects and return wanting for more when he announces a new one in the future. He also tells us what his journey to this point in his career has been like. Having performed in multiple shows, including Prime Video’s Comicstaan Semma Comedy Pa, he mentions that taking up stand-up after shifting from a profile in sales, has given him immense satisfaction, helping him avoid all l regrets and dissatisfaction. “Just one moment (of performing ) is enough to compensate for those downs in life,” he exclaims.
Garnering views in millions, Mervyn’s stand-up videos online have struck the right chord with viewers. He attributes such success in his online presence to his ability not to repeat his formats during the shows. In this way, he has been able to avoid staying in his comfort zone and has challenged himself with each set he performs. All the instances and nuances of this profession, including the different perspectives on the same are the main subjects for Moving On, he highlights. The show’s runtime will equally be divided into presenting perspectives from those out of the profession and in his environment — like his parents and neighbors, as well as his own view of stand-up comedy. Additionally, Moving On is a statement for the comic reflecting his intention to move on from doing opening acts, and line-up acts and finally taking center stage for himself.
Mervyn’s use of the crowd work format for his show is not a surprise for his vast base of ardent fans. Even having released a video, that is ironically titled Why I Don’t Do Crowd Work, he does in fact give enough credit to the said format for keeping his audience engaged. “Certain comics have the ability to keep the audience engaged throughout. They will be in their zone entirely and the audience will be listening to them devotedly,” he says.
Humbly admitting that he is yet to reach that stage in his career, Mervyn highlights that crowd work is a “way to keep them hooked”. The comic also mentions that this format has been ‘adapted into his muscle memory’. Taking the shows under this tour to cities like New Delhi and Mumbai where Tamil is not the primary spoken word, Mervyn believes that they will be a highlight as the Tamil residents there can finally see a comic speaking their language and hence will able to “connect with their roots.”
“When you translate Tamil jokes to English for people, they might not find it funny,” he says. Finally, talking about his future projects, Mervyn emphasises that he is primarily focused on producing enjoyable experiences for audiences on this tour. However, he also teases the release of an interesting improv session video on YouTube which will see him feature with comedian Jagan Krishnan.
INR 499 onwards. Tickets are online.5 pm onwards. At Medai - The Stage, Alwarpet.
Email-pranav.shriram @newindianexpress.com
Twitter- @pranav_shriram