Despite the palatial atmosphere of Kensington Park’s Regal Theatre, Akmal’s endearing introduction
brought the audience down to ground level with ease. You could tell from the outset that connecting with his audience has become second nature over the vast expanse of his comedy career, and his quick quips at others balanced with a healthy dose of self-flagellation made it impossible not to love him for his quirks.
Like so many of us, Akmal has discovered that the ratbaggery in his youth could have been better handled
with a timely ADHD diagnosis. It becomes clear as we get a glimpse into the labyrinth of his thought
processes, that in the art of stand-up, being able to pivot quickly with unpredictable content is somewhat of a superpower.
While waxing lyrical about his conservative Egyptian upbringing in the leery suburb of Sydney’s Punchbowl, Akmal has the audience in fits of laughter with his impressions of neighbourhood kids – his accents are on point!
But the pièce de resistance was his courageous commentary on paedophilia in the Catholic
church and the devastating and violent impact of fundamentalist religious beliefs on humanity at large.
This rant involved a hilarious analogy comparing prayer to an office worker calling on tech support to fix their issues. In Akmal’s version, God has been outsourced to a Bangladeshi call centre operator who asks, ‘Have you tried switching yourself off and then on again?’ Though controversial, it speaks volumes to the lack of humanitarianism from religious oligarchs who are impacting politics where they shouldn’t.
Throughout the set, you can tell that like most of us, Akmal is distressed at the state of the world and his
advice is to tune out. While I understand the sentiment, the whole ignorance is bliss message seems a bit contradictory in relation to the important messages he conveyed earlier. He seems conflicted about how much to engage in a world he has very poignant feelings about.
The show covers so much ground and whilst at times it feels slightly disjointed – the breadth of what he
covers, his flawless impersonations and his hysterically funny analogies make for a brilliant experience.