It sounds like the best job in the world: tipping up to the theatre with a bunch of mates and messing about on stage using only the whims of the audience for ideas. It's like a puppet show, except far, far funnier - and with rather more skill on the part of the puppets.
The five-man team from London's Comedy Store Players who treated a crowd to 90 minutes of "improvisation, audience participation and comedy of the absurd" at the First Group Theatre in Dubai on Saturday were masters of improv - that most unpredictable and impressive of comedy turns. With the exception of Ian Coppinger, the troupe - Stephen Frost, Steve Steen, Andy Smart and Richard Vranch - has been appearing together for 25 years in Whose Line Is It Anyway? the stage version, and, as it happens, the precedent to the TV show that aired on British television from 1988 to 1998.
The words "audience participation" are often what keep people away from stand-up shows - not much matches the terror of being singled out by someone you know is going to humiliate you in front of a large crowd for their own comedic ends. But Frost pointed out: "We're not going to pick on you - we don't do that." There was an almost audible sigh of relief from the audience, and soon the suggestions were coming thick and fast: "lost at sea", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs meet Gladiator", and "the Care Bears rob a bank" were just some of the pearls of inspiration provided by theatregoers. It was hard not to take a long, searching look at the people left and right of you. But, as Frost said: "The more weird and wonderful, the better."
They kicked things off with a story - a kind of verbal Consequences, where each player picked up at random where the last person left of. Absurd does not begin to describe the outcome of "Snoopy and the vase". Just as we were starting to see where the story was going, it would swiftly change tack and become even more preposterous. I could have listened all night. Goodness knows where we would have ended up.
In one of the high points of the first half, Vranch posed as a Mexican lecturer giving a talk about cactae. The combination of exaggerated actions and gabbled mock Spanish was pure comedy genius. We almost didn't need the translation from Coppinger.
There was music, too, and Vranch, who played the piano on the television version of the show, leapt to the keyboard as a scene featuring Steen and Smart in a coal mine twisted and turned in theatrical styles ranging from rock opera to Shakespeare.
It was possible, at one point, to glimpse some of the skill involved in improv: during Freeze, a game in which the performers had to stop in whatever position they were in and anyone could take the scene on, Coppinger was standing with his hands on his hips and one of the others came out with "Ah, there are my scissors", and started trying to cut a piece of imaginary carpet with him (he is quite small). It showed how performers need a whole new mindset - like that required to do cryptic crosswords or Magic Eye puzzles - to spot a scene's comic potential.
The group's most powerful weapon is their dynamic, and they each bring a different nuance to the team: Vranch is great at the physical stuff; Steen does hilarious voices; Frost has the kind of authority that only comes from years of experience; Smart has a great eye for the absurd, and Coppinger, who is Irish, is like an indefatigable leprechaun. But as much as the content of their work is funny, it is almost more amusing to watch them react to each other. Frost spent about as much time laughing at his co-stars as he did coming up with his own jokes.
It is hard to fault such unpretentious, ad hoc entertainment, especially when delivered by a team of old pros. And since you are unlikely to be this amused again until at least September, if you don't already have tickets, get some - now.
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (18+) will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Abu Dhabi tonight at 9pm (for tickets call 02 616 6122), and at the First Group Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, from Thursday to Saturday (for tickets, visit www.madinattheatre.com).
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
