“Be yourself! Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
Like Mathesh N, the charismatic Heathcliff, let met begin with a formal "Ladies and gentlemen!"😁
Ladies and gentlemen, you missed a wonderful show! And what a remarkable, unforgettable, electrifying, intelligent, well-crafted, emotionally textured, and delightfully unpredictable show it was!
Let me start with what really impressed me. Both Mathesh N and Santhosh UK brilliantly and seamlessly shifted between sarcasm, sincerity and satire!
Both of them captivated the audience with their wit, magnetic stage presence (both of them walked up and down the stage with amazing confidence! They owned the stage!) Seeing that some of their jokes did not land on the audience (they did not blame the audience for not being clever enough and instead immediately improvised and created jokes that landed and made them laugh!). They understood that the objective was to make the audience laugh and not to show them that they were cleverer than them! Their body language was expressive!
My dear Mathesh, some of your cleverest jokes might have soared above the heads of the crowd, but you didn’t lose your composure in the slightest! You kept going with charm and confidence and with the backup arsenal of appropriate jokes that resonated with the audience. That is what being prepared is! (Let me be frank, I would not have done that. I would have been content to blame the audience). Even though I was deeply immersed in the enjoyment of your rant, I appreciated the light jokes in between that you gave to please the crowd. Your slight sarcasm of my classes (and my homework) was appreciated as well!😂 You said that every time I come to your class, I am traumatised. But if this trauma, give me ten times more!🤣
Mathesh, your closing remark about refusing to blame the rigidity of the system like other students if you didn’t win was a tongue in cheek comment about your fellow participants and the judges, which is a slight roasting is, isn't it? And since a slight roasting was the only thing missing from your comedy, I would say it was excellently done!👏😃
Santhosh had a similar problem i.e., Most of his double-entendres were not understood by the audience, I laughed out loud and appreciated them very much! His closing lines were remarkable as well. Santhosh, you showed how one can skilfully include even an emotionally moving segment in a stand up comedy too!
It was completely unexpected and I was surprised to see that it was not just effective but it was a masterstroke! That moving, unexpected shift left everyone stunned. But in the best way. When you said "But I failed" the audience instinctively responded with “Why do you say that? You haven’t failed!” That moment alone proved just how powerfully you connected with everyone.👏🙇
BTW - I am calling him Mathesh N instead of Mathesh or Heathcliff because his initial was part of his stand up routine! Is this the first time I'm calling you Santhosh instead of just UK?😁
Since this is a joint letter of praise, I will give my combined report of both your performances. Both of you moved your audience to sustained laughter twenty two times (much more than that but these made you pause and wait for the laughter to simmer down). And of these twenty two times, the audience also gave loud yells of agreement and applauded thirteen times! A remarkable show indeed! Hats off, gentlemen!🙇👏👏👏
With seemingly effortless grace, both of you displayed the courage to stand up, the confidence to speak out, and the creativity to make people laugh, think, and feel! Watching you both perform was not just entertaining, it was deeply moving. 🥲🥹You gave the audience a gift of laughter today, and you gave your teacher something even more special: the joy of seeing my students grow into confident, critical, and powerfully charismatic voices!
Bravo, Santhosh and Mathesh! You did not just perform. You left a mark.✨
Proud to be your English teacher,
I am,
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Veda
Live long and Prosper!✨