It’s ironic that the new show from Finnish comic Ismo Leikola (or Ismo) should be called ‘Watch Your Language’ – ironic in the sense that English is obviously not his mother tongue, and ironic in that his unique perspective should be in so many ways so familiar to his audience.
Ismo’s upcoming shows won’t be his first time in Australia, so he’s confident people will “get his stuff” as he puts it. But in other places, Ismo does admit there is a bit of a barrier not only in language, but humour, too. He gets around it, though. “Trial and error,” he says. “I kind of enjoy being the outsider and misunderstanding things, trying to understand, because a big part of my comedy [is] about that.
“I’m happy about that barrier, it creates a lot of material for me.”
There’s something about Ismo’s brand of comedy that is incredibly well-received in Australia, though he can’t put his finger on what that is. “The thing about comedy is it’s difficult to figure out how and why people react,” he says. “Me being an outsider to the English language, I think people really like that, but I don’t know why!
“Maybe Australians feel they struggle with the British or American English, also. For me all English is difficult!
“Maybe they just like my delivery and persona – it’s hard to say but maybe I should do a survey!”
Could you imagine? Ismo is the kind of endearingly awkward guy that you could see at the end of a show, clipboard in hand, asking his departing audience, ‘So, why do you like me?’. It’s an idea that does indeed tickle Ismo. “’If you liked this show, can you say why?’ I like the survey, like, calling every customer – ‘Do you have five minutes for a quick survey?’”
Best not to question the whys and wherefores. We should just enjoy Ismo for what he is and the new show. “It’s definitely a lot about language and figuring out language,” Ismo says of his new material. “I think all my big past shows had a language aspect, even though there’s going to be stuff about everyday experiences.”
“I think my stuff is about observing things, figuring them out, then creating theories about them, and making suggestions or ideas.
“I rarely tell stories – it’s more like theories and trying to figure things out. I think that would be a good way to put it – looking at things and trying to find logic.”
Ismo calls it situational comedy but it’s different to what you might normally expect from a presentation of such a genre. “I used to study sciences,” he says, “so I’m really interested in logic – if it makes sense or not. If things stick out to me, or why they're not logical.”
So how does Ismo take that and apply it to the creative, to make his seemingly calculated observations humorous? “I think the humour is in me trying to find the logic or me pointing out when there is no logic,” he says.
“It’s funny when I’m pointing out that logic is missing or it’s flawed. I feel I’m also really creative and come up with sillier and sillier [material] – but I still like the underlying logic there.”
Ismo Tour Dates
9-19 April – Max Watt's (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)21 April – Factory Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival)
23 April – Heath Ledger Theatre (State Theatre Centre) (Perth Comedy Festival)
25 April – Sit Down Comedy Club (Brisbane)
