‘‘Back in 2022, we had four shows on the same day, because we couldn’t get any dates from that venue, hence, we had to push for four shows on the same day, from 4 pm until 11 pm,” stand-up comic Faiyaaz Hussain begins to tell us. He used to be an executive producer that time.
He adds, “Through my experience of producing shows, I understood that the last show (of the day) had a lot of turnout. It is because people are free at that time, and they want to get back home a little early. If they went for a movie, it will take them a good three hours, and an hour to travel back home. So what they are essentially looking for is quick entertainment before heading home. That’s when I thought we should have late night shows.”
Faiyaaz, who has curated the upcoming The Late Night Show, tried organising one back in October/November, but couldn’t find venues. “Finally, we found this recently started Studio Muzi-Croft, which is open 24 hours, where we are going to have Chennai’s first late night show,” he informs.
The line-up for the first show includes artistes like Manoj Prabakar, Sarvesh, Vysakh, Risha and Naveen (on Saturday); and Venkat, Prakash, Shyam, Selva and Mani (on Sunday).
Manoj, who is the headlining artiste for the first day, says, “It’s high time a cosmopolitan city like Chennai has late night comedy shows. It’s a concept worth experimenting with as the city’s night life scene is also growing. Late night comedy will definitely be an add-on for people to explore other means of entertainment than films. I am hoping people will turn out in good numbers because everyone wants to end the day with a good laugh. Also, considering the timing of the show, jokes can be on topics that are generally not covered during an evening show, like certain dark themed jokes that aren’t considered family-friendly, so this makes room for that as well.”
Taking that thought forward, Faiyaaz explains that for comedy shows that are not late night, artistes matter; whereas for a late night show, comedy matters. “If the audience finds an artiste interesting, only then will they go for an evening show. But for a late night show, the audience does not care much about the artistes; they care about the jokes, about relaxing with a few good laughs before they retire for the day,” he says.
Prakash Kumar, who is the headliner on the second day of The Late Night Show believes late night shows will work and soon become a weekly affair. “I want to keep my jokes relatable and current. For instance, IPL, or traffic or daily work/college life, humour related to dating… these are what I am going to talk about because there are multiple artistes for this event, and for me, to instantly connect with the audience, relatable jokes are what does the trick.”
Tickets at Rs 249. May 25 & 26,10 pm.
At StudioMuziCroft, Kodambakkam.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
X: @rupsjain
