Istanbul Comedy Club will be hosting three short original comedy plays each night, over a run of multiple performances taking place on February 4, 5, 11, and 12. Doors open at 19:30 and punctuality is emphasized, with entry priced at 50 TL.
Note: February 4th has sold out.
From the organizer:
Istanbul Comedy Club in Şişhane will host a series of original comedies this February, running four evenings each containing three short original comedies.
The event has already garnered wide interest and advanced ticket sales among Istanbul English-speaking theatre-going community, with extra dates potentially being added to the run.
The three comedies were created and directed by Kenny Laurie and devised by local expats, including many members of The Clap improv group and others who previously collaborated on The Exhibition back in September 2019.
The plays are called The Invention of Acting, Come Again!, and HardWall and each runs to around 30 minutes. The three plays will be played back-to-back with 10-minute breaks between plays. The shows initial dates will be February 4, 5, 11 and 12 with the first play opening at 7:30pm each night.
Tickets will be available on the door, but due to high demand, booking a ticket for a particular evening is strongly recommended by emailing kennyrblaurie@gmail.com. Tickets will cost TL50 and must be paid for on the door in cash.
The plays are principally played and created by member of The Clap improv group, as well as other collaborators from previous projects, plus a smattering of newcomers.
The Invention of Acting
The Invention of Acting is a fictionalized account of the true story of David Garrick, an 18th century English actor who is credited with inventing what modern audiences would recognize as “acting”. Prior to Garrick, performers were more like orators reciting lines, rather an active reacting characters. While the real-life Garrick was a brilliant pioneer, in this farcical comedy, Garrick is a vain, bumbling fool who invents acting accidentally after putting the lives of his acting company in jeopardy. Clap mainstays Chris Wall (Garrick), Michelle Rinehart, Jess Alfonso and Nathan Bassett star while the show introduces newcomers Kevin Mataraci and Chris Booksh.
Come Again!
Bellicose and foul-mouthed interviewer Zack McMacken (actor’s name and character name) is the host of a fading radio show that is again hobbled when he is forced to book whiter-than-white has-been Chrishelle after upcoming superstar Selina drops out of the interview. While the interview looks to be torpedo-ing McMacken’s show, circumstances, personality clashes and a controversial arrival for Selina lead to McMacken wondering whether high ratings are worth the sordid fame game.
The play is in real time and is staged as a 30-minute episode of Come Again! With Zack McMacken, starring McMacken, Michelle Rinehart and Serenay Demir.
HardWall
Former light entertainer Chris Wall (actor’s name and character name) never felt comfortable after being thrust into hard-hitting political chat shows, with his lack of tact, knowledge and ability forcing his show HardWall into cancellation. When a high-powered guest warns him that his show is so bad that he may never work in television again, Wall resolves to finally doing a proper interview and bring down the world’s great political players. The farcical comedy is a real time 30-minute production of HardWall’s final episode. Chris Wall is joined on stage by fellow Clap members Jess Alfonso, Michelle Rinehart and Jerrod Weston, alongside The Exhibition actor Luke Webb.
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For more information, stay up to date via the official event page.
Images courtesy of the organizer.
Asmalı Mescit, Beyoğlu Şaraphanesi, Sofyalı Sk. No:7, 34440 Beyoğlu/İstanbul
