Live and Let Laugh (No time to Cry)

Prolific isn’t a word you usually associate with comedians, but it’s the perfect way to describe the output of Alan Committie.

Over the last 24 years he’s written and performed 24 one-man shows, and his milestone 25th creation comes soon after he bounded back on stage with the post-pandemic hilarity of Apocalaughs Now! Since the James Bond franchise has also released 25 movies, Committie has chosen the debonaire secret agent as his theme and titled this new show Live and Let Laugh (No time to Cry).

The downside of being such a prolific performer is that even dedicated Alan afficionados may feel it’s too soon to be watching him again because they’re barely finished laughing at the last show. It’s only been five months since he was last on stage, although with such a dearth of other shows to see at the theatres, it actually feels far more recent.

So there’s a risk that over-familiarity with his material will lead to a lack of appreciation as he follows the same broad routines, despite packing it with fresh material. There are certainly some absolute comedy gems in the performance, but not quite as many as usual.

My friend who had never seen Committie before was surprised that he seems happy to target a predominantly middle aged, middle class white audience. Even though that is traditionally where he aims, the theme of Bond and particularly the long-forgotten older shows cement the appeal to that demographic.

For Live and Let Laugh he’s also brought back his Afrikaans alter-ego Johann van der Walt, which has never been my favourite part of his shows. Yet it got some serious guffaws from other audience members, and as Committie himself would say, different jokes are aimed at different people and he doesn’t expect everyone to love everything all the time.

One continual strength with Committie is his excellent rapport with the audience and the quick-witted way he builds their responses to his questions into the overall performance. Another favourite feature is the flip chart, with this former teacher giving us a mind-boggling definition of an everyday word and stretching it to creative new boundaries. Our word was espionage, which he broke down into the unlikeliest of components that all make perfect sense once you see it.

As usual the central theme flexes and bends in all different sorts of directions, allowing Committie to bring in other topics and go off at tangents, but cleverly getting back on track after each diversion. Even a section about catheters eventually links back to Bond in his convoluted storytelling.

While this isn’t the absolute stonker of a show that Committie often delivers, it’s certainly good enough to ensure we’ll be back to laugh another day.

Live and Let Laugh runs at Montecasino theatre until April 17. Tickets from Computicket or at the theatre.
Photos: Meghan McCabe