★★★
Dilruk Jayasinha is the envy of most people losing an incredible 35 kilos since he started his weight loss journey. However, it’s a double-edged sword for Jayasinha who, as a comedian, often used his size to literally carry the weight of most of his sets through the years – which he can’t exactly do anymore. It’s like when a skinny girl complains to her friends that she is fat. Nobody is buying it.
Jayasinha’s show Cheat Day(s) is all about his weight loss journey with some funny anecdotes along the way. He really had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand, with his inordinate storytelling ability and pervasive humour.
He often draws upon his personal experiences in Sri Lanka where he believed the weight gain and self-deprecating humour began. In one anecdote, he remembers that he adopted a nickname which meant “The Lonely Elephant” in Singhalese. To the audience’s dismay, he revealed that it was actually his teacher that gave him the nickname The resounding laugh was an indication that the audience knew if that happened in Australia, the school would have a lawsuit on their hands.
Jayasinha continues to unload, literally and figurately, when talking about how his Grandmother used to feed him chicken lard as a treat when he was a kid – yeah, I know gross. As a result, he began to associate unhealthy food with happiness. A disgusting image, yet impactful.
While there is no denying Jayasinha is an excellent story teller, he sometimes falls flat just like his new stomach. He knows how to draw an audience in, however some of the jokes were a bit predictable. Which is a fat shame.
Regardless, his likeable character carries him through and he’s enjoyable to watch. Those who regularly watch Have You Been Paying Attention will know that unscripted, he has a delightful demeanour about him.
His ability to handle a disruptive audience was a testament to his character. With one woman trying to strangle her partner in the audience, and another woman consistently heckling Jayasinha throughout the show; #notallwomen. Although, the heckling did seem unintentional, as she was later escorted stumbling out of the audience by her embarrassed boyfriend. So clearly someone had a good night. Jayasinha, of course, brought both women’s behaviour to the audience’s attention. Which was a funny hypocrisy as at the start of the show he had said that he never picks on the audience.
Jayasinha ends the show with a discussion about how the hardest part about losing weight was keeping it off. Staying true to the show’s namesake, Jayasinha says that he now doesn’t restrict himself from regular treats with cheat days, as they aren’t actually that good for you in the long term.
Highlight: He tells a darn good story.
Lowlight: Some jokes didn’t pack the punch we are used to expecting.
Crowd favourite: His joke about the vacuum cleaner had everyone cringe laughing.
Catch Dilruk Jayasinha’s Cheat Day(s) until Sunday April 21 at The Victoria Hotel as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
