Comedy is such an understated art in Pakistan. Theatre is breathing its last as internet has revolutionized the way we get entertained. And the worst part is that despite the fact that our country is filled with immensely talented comedians, we fail to keep this art alive. However, there are still some people who are adamant on reviving this part of our art culture. LOL Waalay is a group of eight people who are known for improvisational and stand-up comedy. For the past decade almost, they have had one hell of a journey and have made many people laugh while they were at it.
What made you want to start a comedy troupe? Was it something you always wanted to do?
Lol Waalay was started by Zohaib Sheikh in 2009. He started a company by the name of ‘Firefly Theatre and Communications’. At that time, three of us from the current lot auditioned for him and got selected. We continuously produced plays one after the another, until 2012. It’d had started to become difficult to continue primarily due to increasing competition and also, we couldn’t afford it anymore. That is when we took up improvisational comedy as a profession. We performed at second floor for the first time and then it was no looking back for us.
What is the main philosophy behind it and what do you guys hope to achieve from it?
There no actual philosophy behind it. But the major takeaway from all of this is that comedy acts as a stress reliever during times when life is difficult. These comedy shows on the weekends can help in weekly catharsis. We do love what we do and are extremely passionate about it, but making other people laugh is the most gratifying outcome of this process.
What have been some of the major challenges in your journey?
Times were more challenging back when we were doing theatre. One major challenge with improv comedy initially, was that it’s not that popular in Pakistan and it’s hard to gather an audience. So as for any art, you have to first create awareness and educate you audience. And that’s what we’ve achieved over the years. Now however, the challenge is to innovate continuously as people don’t like redundancy.
What is unique about your troupe?
There are majorly three unique things that separate us from the rest. One is that we’re a tightly knit unit. We hang out together all the time, the eight of us. Second, we’re all a bunch of educated professionals with five of us being postgraduates. Lastly, LOL Waalay can improv in both English and Urdu.
What are your main comedy influencers?
We grew up watching a lot of theatrical comedies and TV shows. One of the major influences was the 2005-06 show ‘Whose Life it is Anyway”. We used to watch it as kids and never knew that this is what well do when we grow up.
What’s the most nerve wracking thing about performing improv?
Performing without a script becomes nerve wracking at times. Not having content can become daunting task, especially in front of an audience. We still feel nervous in front of the crowd even after working in this field for several years. But you get used to it with time and as passion takes over nervousness.
What are some things that go into the making of a genuinely funny script?
Script writing isn’t really what we do. We do it for the social media videos though. Other than that, we are an improv group and the content whats in viagra is unique and doesn’t get repeated any time after that again.
What has been the most memorable show so far?
We got a standing ovation performing in National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) at an international event in 2015 when the entire troupe was together. A sanctity is associated with the NAPA’s stage so it became extremely memorable for us.
What’s next on cards for LOL Waalay?
We want to do more shows internationally, more outside Karachi. We think big hope for the best. We want to continue in this very direction, and whatever works for us. We aim to make the best of it.
All Image Sources: www.facebook.com/LolWaalay & www.deskgram.net
