For 11 days in Sandton, all anybody had to say to illicit fits of laughter was a single name – Nik Rabinowitz.
It wasn’t rambunctious, Pension Killer with Nik Rabinowitz was an absolute roar – and it’s no wonder the show enjoyed a sold-out run at the Theatre on the Square from July 23 to August 3.
Rabinowitz was on top form for his incredible performance on July 30. This journalist in the front row soon realised why it may not have been the best idea to sit with a notebook so close to the stand-up comedian on stage – whose ability to improvise remains unchallengeable, witty, and spot-on.
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Rabinowitz is so wild, that he can turn the most morose topic into a super-hilarious anecdote. His punchlines swept through a vast terrain of topics – from South Africans experiencing overwhelming ‘load-shedding withdrawal symptoms’ overseas; South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU); Gary Player dating again at 88 (with a hand from his golf buddy Donald Trump); how Hermanus is a poor man’s Australia; mistaking MMA for a popular narcotic from the 90s; and he gained a lot of pro-Palestine humour points when he delved into rebuilding bridges between Muslim and Jewish people.
The audience management and crowd control displayed by Rabinowitz were nothing short of epic. Rabinowitz finally reached the zenith of his performance when he talked about sexuality as a side-effect of old age.
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Everyone laughed at some point or another during the show, mostly throughout Rabinowitz’s characterisations of his anecdotal recollections behind each perfectly timed punchline delivery.
After the show, he shared how he had been working on Pension Killer since May of this year – flexing how brilliance can happen overnight when you live for what you do.
“Comedy, as Patton Oswalt says, is a bit like rolling the dice with your mental health,” Rabinowitz mused. “So, if you’re trying to heal yourself with stand-up – that can be challenging. Instead, I mainly healed myself with anti-depressants. Sandton, thank you. What a joy it has been to perform for you … again.”
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