FYM’s celebrity-less shakedown

The first question we need to ask our ourselves after Free Your Mind’s ‘Celebrity Shakedown’ is: Is it really worthy of the name minus the celebrities?

Suffering from a distinct deficit of the people preceding the punchlines, the annual event would have done well to seduce some of the city’s stars with something, anything, maybe even those Cokes they were passing around.

Instead, the night was spent firing shots at a host of people who couldn’t even be bothered to make their way to the Warehouse Theatre for Free Your Mind’s final 2016 show which leads us to the second question: How is joking about the people you always joke about in abstentia any different from your usual shows?

Almost strictly E-list and half empty, the show got off to a lacklustre start with a blesser rap by Taap the Guy and Chiro before presenting FYM Nightline – a news bulletin type segment with special guests like Courage as Job Amupanda and Weezil impersonating the Brazilian cleaner of Jonas Junias fame.

With comedic sights set on the usual suspects such as Meriam Kaxuxwena, Dillish Mathews, Tim Ekandjo, The Dogg, Jonas Junias, Hitman, First Lady Monica Geingos, President Hage Geingob, assorted blessers and blessees and even AKA and Robert Mugabe, the show boasted a succession of great ‘news’ pieces and solo sets starting with Kris with a K’s hilarious impersonation of NAMAs backup dancers, The Dogg working out and a random masseuse destressing Meriam Kaxuxwena.

Next on the solo stage was Joh White whose particular brand of self-deprecation interspersed with bits about bomb scares, smart cuts and dating teachers had people in stitches despite his playing fast and loose with the theme.

The same can be said for Ileka whose use of vernacular added some extra flavour to the show in his quips about salary and tender boys, yellow-bone syndrome and the level of connections one needs to consume chicken at weddings.

As funny as one expects but sorely missing an opportunity to elevate the event by roping in the celebrity subjects of the evening, Free Your Mind’s ‘Celebrity Shakedown’ ended the year with less of bang than befitted and with the award of Comic of the Year presented to Mark Kariahuua.

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