I’m usually not into our local Singaporean acts other than Nurul Aini, Aisyah Aziz and Kumar. They’re the best!

I absolutely love Kumar. The fact that his name is well-known to our common household says a lot about the love and admiration everyone here has for him. Since my secondary school days, I have been wanting to watch Kumar’s stand-up comedy show in person but his tickets back then is literally the same price as my weekly school allowance.

The previous show Kumar had at the Capitol Theatre was sold out just when I wanted to book my seats. But! The moment I saw that Marina Bay Sands invited him for another series of production, I quickly booked seats before the show became a sold-out event. I was right! Just weeks after, no more tickets were available and extra shows were added.

The safe distancing measures of the event is controlled and adhered strictly. You either have to be fully vaccinated or have your PET (Pre-Event Testing) done before being allowed entry to the theatre. You have to be tested negative of course. Inside the venue itself, ushers were everywhere. No videography was allowed, at all. I took some videos though to show you the outfits he wore but of course not all parts of the segments to protect the privacy and content of the production but I was politely asked to stop when the show was at its end.

It was my first time stepping into Marina Bay Sands’ theatre and oof, it was huge. I was initially not into musicals or theatre shows so I never stepped into any of the venues but obviously I should do it more often now. If you love architecture and interior design as much as I do, you should check out more theatre shows cause most of them are held at amazing historic venues like The Art House and Victoria Concert Hall which I really love. That being said, if you know of any good shows, tell me too!

The set-up of the stage was simple and minimalistic, with just strips of video screens. It displayed advertisements while we’re waiting for Kumar’s royal entrance.

The show started with two drag performers dancing to songs that aren’t really to date. Unsure who they are but they perform in intervals whenever Kumar has to do a quick change. I think it was the same song they used for a performance almost 10 years ago for Kumar’s show at Aquanova. If that’s indeed true, I hope they do something new for the next production.

Firstly, I understand the effort and time it take for drag performers to transform themselves to be on stage. However, I won’t call them drag queens here because as obvious from the term itself, you have to be a queen material to deserve that status. Which in this case, they don’t.

Secondly, the choreography was underwhelming at best. I won’t say it’s a choreography even. It literally is just a drag performer lip-syncing and flailing their arms to bad audio from Youtube videos. I kid you not, they just extract the audio straight from Youtube videos. They don’t even bother to fade the music in and out. A snooze fest, really.

Had to say that the interval performances actually killed the vibe of the whole production. I rather wait for Kumar’s quick change rather than having to watch someone walking around on stage with bad, outrageous lip-syncing. Me and my friend were exchanging weird glances at each other during most of their dreadful performance.

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The fun starts only when Kumar was on stage. Amazing and hilarious, at best. Parts of his jokes are recycled from his other shows but it really didn’t matter because the way he say it out is different and funny regardless.

I was laughing non-stop. It’s so surreal cause I usually watch him from videos on YouTube. Seeing him onstage and laughing with the audience is totally a different and beautiful experience. It’s also remarkable to note that his jokes are always in sync with what’s going on in our daily life. For example, it was only days after the whole fiasco about Vivian Balakrishnan’s unnecessary rude remarks about the opposition party and Kumar effortlessly made it into a punchline and a hilarious joke. I was laughing my bumbum off of my seat!

His costume changes are also really super beautiful. I’m super obsessed with the flowy sundress he wore for the first part of the show. He looked amazing in it. I actually regretted not getting seats nearer to the stage because unlike concerts, there isn’t any screens to display whatever is going on onstage.

I paid for the $70++ seat which was up on the upper level. It was great in a way that I can see the whole stage clearly but in terms of seeing Kumar up-close, I gotta get a nearer seat next time.

While the price of the show can be rather steep for some, the show is really worth the money you’re paying for. It’s so heartwarming to see everyone from different paths of life attending the show, from the elderly to makcik with tudungs. It’s cute considering how homophobic certain shallow-minded Singaporeans can get. The jokes are definitely not for those who are sensitive.

I had a great evening. If you were to ask me to rate the show from one to ten stars, I’ll give it an eight. If not for the draggy, drag interval performers; I’d give a perfect ten.

Looking forward for more Kumar shows! By the time you’re reading this, the show at the Sands Theatre is all wrapped. I’m unsure if there’s more planned at the moment, but I’m sure to get better seats the next time round!

What shows should I go to next?

Aliff Daniel.