Review: COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Proves Hilarity is Bilingual

In several comedy clubs around the city, audiences would be quick to turn on a comedian once the material starts to bring race and immigration into the mix. However, when you have six talented comedians, all of whom are immigrant themselves telling the jokes, immigration suddenly becomes a major source of laughter.

COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is a night of stand-up comedy dedicated to
pointing out our similarities and poking fun at our differences. Created by Carol Zoccoli, the show is a "hilarious antidote to today's increasingly xenophobic political climate."

"I travel a lot because of my job...I'm a terrorist," joked Martha Chaves, the show's
headliner.

Consider it an antidote well administered. The night, which saw performances from
Zoccoli, Chaves, Leonard Chan, John Mostyn, Nour Hadidi, and Habib Siam, was met with bouts of hysterical laughter, and more than one break of thunderous applause. This was the perfect stand-up experience. If you were to conjure the image of an ideal night of stand-up comedy in your head, you would get something resembling COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.

This is a "Immigrants have made some amazing things. Guacamole, hummus,
yoga...basically everything that gives a white girl a personality," joked Hadidi. "As a Muslim woman, all you see on Facebook is weddings and revolutions. Babies, bombs and brides." fast-paced show. Each comedian got about 15 minutes, ample time to deliver their jokes with flawless execution. Chan especially, who had the job of introducing each comedian, kept the crowd laughing with his quick-witted humour.

"I asked my parents, 'why do you want grandkids? Are you afraid the Chan name is
going to die out?"

Each performer, all of whom were diverse both in background and in their style of
comedy, were well received by the small but enthusiastic audience. Obviously, the night used the common thread of immigration as a baseline for its humour, and it was the jokes that stuck to that theme that got the biggest laughs.

"Immigrants have made some amazing things. Guacamole, hummus, yoga...basically
everything that gives a white girl a personality," joked Hadidi. "As a Muslim woman, all you see on Facebook is weddings and revolutions. Babies, bombs and brides."
In COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, the jokes are rapid-fire. Smart, topical, and
relatable, no performer better encompassed these qualities than Chaves. It's clear to see why this ferociously funny comedian is billed as the show's headliner.
COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is a delightful show with just the right amount
of cheeky edge to it. It's exactly the type of show we need right now. Breaking down walls in a

time where others are building them up, this is a show that has a clear and true message: when it comes to comedy, we all speak the same language.
The Theatre Centre's COMEDY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ran February 12 at The
Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St W, Toronto.

For more information, visit, http://progressfestival.org/programming/comedy-as-a-
second-language

Photo Credit: The Theatre Centre

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