Tina George
‘If you’ve ever been stuck in a wheelchair for six months, had your legs broken in 20 places, then you can imagine the biggest eye- opening knock you can get. Not being able to do anything for yourself, being helpless, is the biggest wake-up call in life,” shares comedian Martin Evans of his experience after surviving a traumatic scooter accident.
This is what he bases his latest one-man comedy show, FBPK, on that will run at the Kalk Bay Theatre this week. In FBPK, Evans tells of his year-long road to recovery and self-discovery.
And it is no wonder then that Evans would title his show FBPK: (Full Body P*#* Klap).
“I lost a year recovering from that and it’s been the reference point for my whole year. There are all the negatives you can sit and moan about, but I chose to make comedy out of it. It’s uplifting, happy, and I’ve never had some-body that was offended by it.”
The show won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at last year’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. Evans’s winning hand at comedy has also seen him win the Laughing Horse Big New Act Competition at the London Comedy Festival and the London Heats of the FHM Holsten Pils competition.
“I always wanted a job where you could be creative. In radio you are not really permitted to be the personality you want. Comedy is the first open point of true communication nobody can fully censor it.”
The comedy scene is saturated these days with anyone believing they are a dab hand at comedy. What sets Evans apart, he says, is Twitter.
“I built a huge following just by being very active and showing that I have wit. Over the past couple of months my workload has exploded. I got a show in Durban just because they have seen me on Twitter.”
A well-known MC and radio jock, he was recently seen on the South African edition of Come Dine With Me on BBC Entertainment which made waves and, Evans states, trended over superstorm Sandy: “It was the most dramatic episode, everything was chaotic. From the contestants getting drunk to eating worms, I got 2 000 messages alone on Twitter. I think it’s the biggest show in BBC Entertainment history.”
Asked what his favourite dish to make is, he responds: “Nothing comes close to my spaghetti Bolognese. I go insane for it.”
Any special dish he makes before going on stage?
“No, I don’t eat anything. I end up losing weight when I’m on tour. I’ll probably go to Golden Dish for a masala steak Gatsby after the show, but if nobody comes then I’ll have to have a polony one instead.”