Russell Peter's "Somebody gonna get hurt real bad" (YouTube) is probably one of the best comedy routines, and even though the joke itself is retired; it is still what Russell Peters is mostly known for. His observational comedy, especially on race and immigrants (himself being a child of immigrants) backed up by some brilliant accents.
Russell Peters' new show, "Notorius World Tour" just started (with South Africa being one of the early stops); and there are still some rough edges. What is possibly the sequel to "Somebody gonna get hurt real bad", featuring his white friend "Stephen", and the difference in parenting approaches has a lot of potential; but it just doesn't feel like the end version. The highlight of his show, for me, were his various impromptu conversations with the audience; and drawing out the various cultural stories and observations. The rough edges really showed in the short awkward pauses where Russell didn't say anything, and the audience didn't applaud - a bit of nothingness. It wasn't that the comedy wasn't funny - it was - the show itself just didn't seem to flow that well.
American comedian, Ruben Paul, was the support act. Like a number of comedians, his show was about relationships (what is it with comedians giving advice to the audience on relationships); and off course what it is like for an African American to get back to Africa. His show was actually a lot more polished in some respects; but I suppose he wasn't trying out new material.
The decision to go to the show was very much last minute. I saw some tickets were still available, and went to Carnival City (which remains the dreariest casino I have been to) and bought tickets before the show. The tickets were expensive, and to be honest, I am not convinced it was worth it. It was a good show; but not that great.
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