KUALA LUMPUR: Stand-up comedy extravaganza Lawak Ke Der? which has tickled fans for four sold out seasons since 2011 will be an annual affair at Istana Budaya (IB) from this year onwards.
Announcing the latest installment of Lawak Ke Der? at IB today, its producer and director Datuk Hans Isaac said public support for the comedy showcase which is produced by his company Tall Order Productions has been encouraging and IB director-general Datuk Juhari Shaarani has also been very pleased with it.
"Juhari has called on us to bring Lawak Ke Der? back, and better still, make it an annual attraction for theatregoers. Tall Order says yes to that, because there's an increase in demand for stand-up comedy right now," said Hans when met.
He said "by popular demand", Lawak Ke Der? Season 5 will be staged at the national theatre from May 5 to 8, at 8.30pm and 3pm (final day).
Hans revealed that the line-up of comedians this year remains a combination of experienced ones like Afdlin Shauki, Harith Iskander and Douglas Lim, and the relatively new like Kumpulan Bocey and Rayza Mukmin, who joined the show last year.
The bubbly host Sherry Al-Hadad is now joined by Nabil Ahmad, and the new additions to the comedians' line-up are Jihan Muse and Shuk Balas.
Assuring fans that the jokes presented by comedians this time around would not be recycled ones, together with Juhari, they would also make sure comedians do not tread on sensitive issues as politics and ethnicity.
"We're monitoring our comedians during the rehearsals and we'll make sure that no jokes 'cross the lines' of sensitivity," said Hans. "No such problems cropped up in the previous seasons."
Hans also said this year will see different comedian line-ups on different days. For instance, Sherry will host the first day's show which features Bocey, Afdlin, Lim and Rayza, while Nabil will host the second day's show, featuring Harith, Bocey, Lim and Rayza.
On Tall Order's upcoming productions, Hans revealed that the successful adaptation of the movie Baik Punya Cilok into a musical last year had encouraged him to produce another of its kind next year.
"We're looking at Lemak Kampung Santan, our 2013 movie where I played a developer who tries to develop an idyllic village only to fall for a beautiful woman there."
Tickets for the showcase are priced at RM48 to RM188. Call 03-4026 5558 or visit www.airasiaredtix.com