Comedy: Nik Rabinowitz: Pension Killer
29 September at 19:00
HMS Bloemhof Centre
In my mind, a good stand-up comedian needs to be a little bit crazy; not just as a response to the pressure of having to entertain an entire audience with just a microphone, but also because of the sheer audacity needed to tell certain jokes to sometimes cagey audiences.
Nik Rabinowitz’s latest show, Pension Killer, in many ways proved me right. Facing a Stellenbosch audience who many would assume to be a bit more conservative, Rabinowitz daringly opened with raunchy jokes poking fun at the Afrikaans community.
Nik Rabinowitz performed his latest stand-up comedy show, Pension Killer, on 29 September at the Stellenbosch Woordfees. PHOTO: Supplied/Woordfees
Even more daring than his opening was the way in which he involved the audience in his jokes. He constantly asked an older gentleman in the front row for his input. And when ‘Oom Eben’ – as Rabinowitz referred to him – declined to participate, he involved him anyway. “Blink twice if you agree,” he said, as laughter erupted.
Not a second wasted
Rabinowitz did not waste a second on stage. From the moment he started talking, it was as if he was racing through his own thoughts. He tossed out witty remarks about politics, his Jewish heritage, travelling, and his family. His stories came fast, piling on top of each other in a way that made the punchline better once you had all the pieces.
He explained at great length, for example, how one of his children attends a private school, while the other is in a government school – with clever quips about how people always forget about the youngest child – and the questions they had about the national elections earlier this year. The eventual punchline was that the child attending a private school wanted to know if they would move to Australia if the Economic Freedom Fighters came into power, while the child attending a government school thought they would move to Hermanus if the same were to happen.
Rabinowitz’s ability to maintain momentum throughout the show’s full 70 minutes without any breaks was impressive. He also expertly dealt with the few awkward silences that managed to creep into his set, quickly responding to the nervous laughter with quips of how much better the joke had previously landed with other audiences, which induced genuine laughter from the crowd.
Rabinowitz’s fearlessness to involve the audience – even when they weren’t willing – highlighted the fine line between confidence and audacity that comedians must constantly walk. Who else but a slightly unhinged comedian would turn Oom Eben’s hesitation into his best material?