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Fish out of water
As curious as their name are their antics on stage. When firing on all cylinders, Blackfish — an improvisational comedy troupe formed by young Karachiites — can light up the stage with a burst of colour in the form of their slightly left-of-centre field humour. Though they might not have the serious appeal issue-based theatre has, their light-hearted performances have helped the group carve out a niche that is entirely their own: somewhere in between the grim dullness of serious theatre and fluorescent pink bawdiness of commercial stage. Their weapon of choice is spontaneity and boundless energy, which was evident when they came in for their interview. Getting a straight answer out of the Blackfish people without having them break into peals of laughter is as easy as advanced calculus.
“There are eight people in the group and we started off in the summer of 2002. That’s when we got together, but we didn’t start performing till January, 2003. Umar (Rana) was the first to join, and then everybody else came along,” Saad Haroon, founder and defacto leader of the group, started off.
Though they indulge in all things ha ha hee hee while performing, the group is an interesting mix — a motley crew actually — of individuals as a banker, ad execs, a psychologist and students, amongst others, all call themselves members of Blackfish. For the record, the roll call of all eight current members goes something like this: Cyrus Viccaji; Sanam Saeed; Ishma Alvi; Faris Khalid; Yasser Salehjee; Saad Haroon; Umar Rana and Sami Shah. As with anything, what was it that exactly inspired these people to start up an improv comedy troupe?
“We wanted to be rock stars!” comes Faris Khalid.
“Yes, but we couldn’t sing,” Saad adds, as guffaws follow.
After a few more off-the-cuff musings, Saad comes clean as to why they formed Blackfish.
“We wanted to do interesting theatre. There is a lack of theatre here. Improvisational comedy is a theatre form that can be performed very often and every time it’s different. Because it’s comedy, it is appealing to people and you can pretty much perform it wherever you want, which helps as we don’t really have performance spaces here,” Saad explains.
“Plus, we were all single at the time so we though it would help us meet girls,” Faris adds, with another one of his gems of wisdom.
As for their curious name, it is actually steeped in this city’s history.
“The name is derived from the word ‘Kolachi,’ which was the original form of Karachi. Kolachi goes back to the word ‘Kala Chi,’ which roughly translates as Black Fish,” reveals Saad.
Instead of the rehearsals that most mainstream theatre groups hold to keep their performers in form, the members of Blackfish hold workshops in improvisational comedy periodically to keep their routine slick.
“In improvisational theatre you have a structure that you work in. The term rehearsal doesn’t really apply to us. We just play around with the form again and again rather than playing around with a script,” says Saad.
“We basically work on scene-building and character-building because that is important. We basically make sure that the scene progresses and develops,” adds Faris.
The members each have a repertoire of characters, which they eventually select and whip out according to the suggestions from the audience, because audience participation is essential for the Blackfish experience to click. As Saad Haroon sums up, “there is a method to the madness.”
The group don’t have any particular inspirations, but the members did admit they liked “any good comedy.” But they were savvy enough to drop names that are considered legendary in alternative comedy circles: Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, etc.
In 2003 alone, the group performed over 50 times. “We averaged 1.0056 shows a week,” comes Umar Rana, as the room again explodes in raucous laughter. Blackfish try to perform every week, usually on a Sunday, but it’s fair to say that they’ve become the darlings of the corporate crowd as well, as over the past couple of months many multinational concerns have used their entertainment as the highlight at product launches and press shows. “It’s an hour of good, solid fun. We have fun and the audience has a good time. It’s a good way to spend a Sunday night,” Umar Rana says about the group’s regular unbranded shows. “It’s either that or turning someone’s backyard into a club and having a really bad party,” Faris observes.
“Seriously though, there’s nothing to do in Karachi. The best part about our shows is that they appeal to the whole family. We keep away from objectionable material — no references to sex, no abusive language — none of that. We have people of all ages at our shows, from 10-year-olds to grandparents,” Faris adds in a more serious tone.
“With improv it’s different because the audience is part of the performance. It is the most integral part. If the audience is not responsive, if they are not giving suggestions, if they are not there with you, then your show will not be a very good one. It is an interactive, intensely fun experience,” says Saad highlighting the role of the audience in the success of the show.
Apparently, Blackfish’s fame has spread far and wide, as they are currently in the UK representing Pakistan as part of a British Council world theatre project, ‘Contacting the World.’
“There are 12 troupes, six from the UK, six from other countries around the world: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Syria and Malaysia. All the foreign troupes have a twin troupe in England,” Saad Haroon revealed before leaving, shedding light on the project.
No doubt the members have a firm grip on their subject matter, but one wishes they’d perform in Urdu, perhaps to reach a greater audience locally.
“We do the show in English and we do it well. I can only speak for myself and my Urdu isn’t that good. I’m sure that after people see what we do, one day, there’ll be someone out there who’ll try and do improv in Urdu. Comedy depends on language and each language holds a different set of rules as far as what makes people laugh is concerned,” Saad justified.
Blackfish are young, smart and in demand. How far the public’s fascination with them goes remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: as long as their routine retains its freshness and the members’ quick wits prevail, one has a feeling the audience won’t have any other fish to fry.
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