HCMC – The All-Vietnam Finals of the Big V Comedy Competition

Mon 20 Mar 2017, 8 pm
La Fenetre Soleil
44 Ly Tu Trong, Dist 1, HCMC

From the organizer:

With over 30 contestants whittled down to five, the finals of this year’s Big V amateur comedy competition will take place on Monday, Mar. 20.

Part of the Magners International Comedy Festival that will be laughing its way through Saigon and Hanoi, the winners of this event will get the chance to perform on the big stage in the regional finals in Singapore. It’s a huge prize, and one that has the potential to launch a career in stand-up comedy.

Hosted by professional comics Matthew Giffen (UK) and Lars Calleiou (CAN), gracing the finals will be three contestants from Ho Chi Minh City and two from Hanoi:

— Brian Armstrong (US)
— Nathan Sproul (UK)
— Yasar Saleem (UK)
— Uy Le (VN)
— Nathan Jaieyola (US)

So are you ready for a night of laughter and competitive suspense? You’d better be!

[THE FINALISTS]

— Brian Armstrong (US)
Brian Armstrong is a 34-year-old stand-up comic from Houston, Texas. His comedy style is a sharp-but-dimwitted sarcastic squat dump on all of his bad habits, ideas and decisions. He’s a thinking man’s idiot.

— Nathan Sproul (UK)
A Yorkshire ripper of rhymes and writer of poetry, Nathan Sproule uses his love of word play and twisted up jokes to keep fingering the two pies he has settled into.

— Yasar Saleem (UK)
With a dark and misanthropic take on life, Yasar Saleem offers his views on everything from his Islamic upbringing and ISIS, to the sweet relief that death will bring

— Uy Le (VN)
Uy Le is a new comedian to the scene. People call him many names, but he prefers ‘prodigy’. He likes to tell jokes about relatable topics such as quantum physics and game theory. His mum loves him.

— Nathan Jaieyola (US)
After getting his start on the Philadelphia comedy scene, Nathan has brought his calm delivery with big punchlines to audiences throughout Southeast Asia.

[THE HOSTS]

Lars Calleiou (CAN)
Lars has compiled an impressive list of Canadian comedy credits. He has a comedy special airing on the Comedy Network, appearances at the Just for Laughs and Halifax Comedy Festivals and his comedy radio show was nominated for a 2011 Canadian Comedy Award. He’s been on CBC’s The Debaters, XM Radio and Shaw Cable.

What has he done in the United States you ask? In America Lars was a finalist in the Seattle International Comedy Competition, he’s traveled to Iraq and Kuwait twice to entertain the service men and women, and he’s appeared at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Boston Comedy Festival and played Brad Garrett’s comedy club at the Tropicana in Las Vegas.

At the end of 2011 he toured with Miss Joan Rivers for a second time. She even requested him personally, “Get the funny Canadian kid again.”

This will be Lars’s second appearance at the Magners International Comedy Festival in Vietnam.

Matthew Giffen (UK)
Award-winning comedian Matthew Giffen has been splitting sides the world over. Half Columbian, half Irish and born and raised in the UK, he is the star of BBC 3’s hit show The Fear in the UK. Having headlined theatres across Asia and Europe, his debut solo show Cocaine & Potatoes won Critics Choice Award at the Perth Fringe in 2015. Fast, frenetic and sometimes furious, Matthew leaves crowds begging for more.

This will be Matthew’s second appearance at the Magners International Comedy Festival in Vietnam.

Quotes
“Controlled explosion of energy, all so enjoyable.” — Chortle
“Absolutely hilarious – catch him before TV snaps him up!” — Mark Dolan

Tickets: VND200,000 in advance or on the door

Follow updates on event page.