Hirzi Zulkiflie is a lot of things. Among many things, he’s a comedian, social media personality, a YouTuber, and most importantly, he’s a fan of Beyoncé.
If I’m being honest, I, a Singaporean Gen Z, didn’t know who Hirzi was until I was forced asked by my colleague to go to his “Raya-naissance: A Chosen Family Raya” comedy show/Hari Raya open house.
Here's what it is, according to the Peatix page:
"A Holiday Open House
An Eid It All - Raya Buffet
A Renaissance Concert Parody
A Concept Comedy Show
A Cultural Extravaganza
A Love Letter from Hirzi"
Screenshot from @hirziofficial Instagram page.
“Just have a good laugh tonight,” my colleague said to me.
Truth be told, I was skeptical because of the following reasons:
- I don’t know Hirzi. Will I find him funny?
- I’m not very well-educated when it comes to the Malay/Muslim culture. Will the jokes fly over my head?
- I don’t have a baju Melayu (a traditional Malay men’s wear)
You’re probably wondering why the lack of a baju Melayu is a potential concern for a comedy show.
Well, that’s because Hirzi encourages his audience to dress in the theme of “Raya Renaissance”.
And for someone who lives in Uniqlo Airism t-shirts, the “no t-shirts allowed” rule hits hard.
So special thanks to my colleagues who made me put the “slay” in “Slaymat Hari Raya”.
One colleague lent me her father's samping while another colleague lent me his songkok. Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
Like a Hari Raya open house
Hirzi wasn’t kidding when he told us to come hungry because there was a full Malay buffet spread to welcome us before the show started.
As someone who can barely handle the spice level of a McSpicy, the buffet food catered to my tastebuds and was damn shiok.
Photo by Aloysius Aw.
Photo by Aloysius Aw.
Anyway, here were other key highlights from the show:
Immersive experience
For some reason, I expected to just sit down and laugh at gags.
But it was our show as much as it was Hirzi’s show.
Prior to the show, he encouraged everyone to memorise “H(eid)-Ted”, his parody of Beyoncé’s “Heated”, so everyone could sing it together.
In the first act, he also shared the limelight through a catwalk segment where fans and personalities from the audience, like Xiaxue and Nurul Aini, catwalked down the aisle.
Video by Fasiha Nazren.
I was also given some special attention by one of Hirzi’s dancers:
Video by Fasiha Nazren.
I was caught off guard, but frankly, it was nice to feel like I was part of the show.
Doesn’t require context, but good to have some
Remember how I said one of my concerns was my lack of Malay/Muslim knowledge?
Yeah, it became a legitimate concern because some jokes were made in Malay. And I wish I understood the language because it seemed like the jokes were so funny, almost the entire audience laughed harder than usual.
(I laughed anyway because I didn’t want to look like the odd one out.)
Hirzi as Syasya. Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
For context, I had to whisper to my colleague to ask what certain words like “gemuk” meant.
But again, Hirzi seems to have a way of bringing the room together.
Right after he made a joke in Malay, he jokingly asked a non-Malay person if he understood what he said.
“Maybe you should learn the national language,” he jokingly said to the person. As a Singaporean Chinese, I FELT THAT.
Thankfully, most of the show was done in English so I genuinely did laugh, ok.
Also, while it was an easy watch, I’d probably understand the show better if I had watched the Hirzi’s interview with the co-act of the night, Dew Francis:
Of laughters…
I came to a comedy show to laugh, and I laughed. Very hard.
There were tons of out-of-pocket jokes that either left me in stitches or gasping in an attempt to stifle a peal of laughter.
Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
I don’t want to give away too much but Hirzi and Dew poked fun at other personalities who were at the show, including Dee Kosh and Xiaxue.
Screenshot from Xiaxue's Instagram story.
They also made some remarks about current affairs, like the upcoming nine per cent GST and the Suhaimi Yusof Admiralty bazaar hullabaloo.
All I can say is, if you take offence easily, you will find yourself squirming in your seat.
And tears…
I expected to laugh at a comedy show but I didn’t expect it to be heartstring-pulling.
Hirzi and Dew made the atmosphere sombre with an intimate sharing of their personal struggles and reconciliation, as fast as they made the crowd laugh with their quips and jokes.
Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
In fact, when I took a quick scan around the room, I saw some members of the audience had tears welled in their eyes and heard some quiet sobs.
Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
Here are some choice quotes from Hirzi and Dew:
“Life is short, and even shorter without legs (for context, he made a joke about diabetes). But let’s live it with love.”
“Be proud of your struggle, because god gave you that struggle.”
“We can’t laugh as a coping mechanism, we laugh when we’re fully healed.”
And then the show ended with a dikir barat performance of the Malay folk song “Wau Bulan”.
Apparently, it’s about a kite but I’m sure it’s more than that because those who knew the song sang along proudly while tearing. Meanwhile, non-Malay speakers like me clapped along, with an unexplainable feeling of unity.
Video by Aloysius Aw.
Verdict?
I walked into the venue not knowing these stand-up comedians.
However, I stepped out of the show with a belly tired from laughing and a renewed admiration for Hirzi and Dew.
It takes a lot to be vulnerable in front of a crowd of strangers. But it takes talent to bind that with humour.
Like my colleague said to me, it really felt like going to a Hari Raya open house: Good food and good conversations resulting in more laughter than tears.
My only gripe with the show is that I wish I could understand and laugh along to the Malay jokes.
Maybe Hirzi was right. I should start learning my national language.
BRB, downloading Duolingo.
You can get tickets to his May 3 show here.
Top image from Fasiha Nazren.