The live taping of the roast of DJ and media personality Pierra Makena took place on Tuesday 17th at Alloy Lounge in Sarit, Westlands in front of a not-so-lively audience.
The night started rather lethargically, as audience members arrived at the venue at a snail’s pace. By 7 p.m. – which was the official show kick-off time – the room was barely half-full. There were conspicuous pockets of unoccupied seats, and the people already in the room didn’t seem too enthusiastic.
This wasn’t an unexpected scenario, however, seeing as the taping was placed smack in the middle of the festive season. Not so many people have ‘attending a live taping of a comedy roast’ as one of the items on their bucket lists during this period of the year.
By 8 p.m. though, the room had a sizable crowd and the roastmaster, Bashir Halaiki, who was playing the role for the very first time kicked off the show in earnest; beginning with a pre-roast segment where comedians Kinuthia S.K, Marvin Githinji and South Africa’s Vafa Naraghi performed regular five-to-seven minute sets. Against the backdrop of a cold audience, they all held their own with Vafa receiving the best reaction, thanks partly to his experience and the fact that he brought the energy.
After Vafa had left the stage, Bashir introduced the roasters, and then the roastee. His opening set, albeit a little soft, was well received. He had made it clear from the outset that he wasn’t going to go hard on Pierra, which was understandable seeing as Pierra is the first female roastee on the Hot Seat.
Comedian Mike One, taking part in a roast for the very first time was the first roaster to take to the podium. Despite his little experience with roasts, he did quite well. Most of his punches towards the panelists and Pierra connected and he would have been proud of himself, no doubt.
Then came Emmanuel Kisiangani, who had arguably the best set of the night. His immense experience was on full display from the moment he took the mic. He went the extra mile making sure every one of his jokes hit home. This was in stark contrast to George Waweru, who despite his jokes being excellent couldn’t muster up the right levels of energy to sell some of them – I’d squarely blame the audience for not getting most of his jokes though.
Nelly Wangech picked up where she had left off from the roast of Butita, delivering hit after hit. She however started a little shaky this time but she was able to pick up her performance by the end of her set.
The last roastee of the night was Maina Munene and he did what he does best; he brought the energy. Most of his jokes landed but he could have delivered some of them better.
After Munene’s set, it was Pierra’s turn to return fire. Visibly shaken, she couldn’t bring herself to roast the panel and only threw a jab at Eugene Mbugua before wishing everyone all the best and bowing out, effectively taking home the award for the shortest-ever clapback at a comedy roast.
Bashir Halaiki, who had done an excellent job as a first-time roastmaster, promptly closed out the show, thanking everyone for coming and promising even better roasts ahead. Despite the crowd being a little cold for most of the night, it was all in all an excellent show for real comedy lovers.
