Friday 02 / August / 2024
Muscat: The temperatures are high, and tempers are flaring. People are looking to unwind, and what better way to do it than at a comedy show. Youtube sensation Rafi Bastos traveled all the way from Brazil and kept the audiences in splits throughout his 60 minute set on Thursday night.
Stand-up comedy isn’t new in Oman, but 2023 has seen many comedic stars find their way to the Sultanate. It’s a coming-of-age of sorts for the audiences, and we hope that the demand for this art will only grow.
Thursday’s show opened with TFM presenter and comedy entrepreneur Abbas Al Lawati. Abbas can talk about 10 different topics in 10 minutes, and still make the jokes land. With fresh jokes, great timing and confident delivery he warmed up the audiences very quickly.
Rafi took the stage, and the audience did not stop laughing for the next hour. The set started on a high – with jokes about what Brazil is best known for. Without spoiling the show, we will leave the answer to that to your imagination. There was no room for political-correctness; from turtles to Chewbacca, no one was spared. As a non-native speaker of English, his comic timing and delivery was impeccable. He was completely at ease, and encouraged the audiences to let down their guard. A well-timed comment of "Yes!" from the audience to one of his jokes was the high-point.
If you’re wondering who watches these shows live, here's the answer. The audience is extremely diverse - young, old, male, female, expats and locals – anyone who loves stand-up and is looking for a way to unwind after a long week.
The show was brought to Oman by Hollywood Pop Up Entertainment and Humor Infection, in association with Times of Oman and London Speaker Bureau.
