Owen 'Blakka' Ellis introducing Ity and Fancy Cat towards the end of Christmas Comedy Cook-Up at the Hilton Kingston ballroom on December 26.

Barbadian comic Trevor Eastman was a standout among outstanding comedic performances at the sixth renewal of the Christmas Comedy Cook-Up at the Hilton Kingston Ballroom on Saturday night.

Before a sold-out audience of about 1500 patrons, local comedic greats Ity and Fancy Cat, Trinidadian Donna Hadad, Miss Kitty, Rosa Rose, Cathy Grant, Michael Abrahams and Lemon provided sustained knee-slapping, side-splitting, tear-jerking laughter.

Following a beautiful musical introduction provided by Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis, who belted covers of Jennifer Hudson's Spotlight and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive to rousing applause, and a tearful episode for a young singer called Jesse, Super Ity and FancyCat Man 'flew' in to save us from the Kin Teeth Tax Package. That was where the laughter started and it would be a long time before it stopped.

Singing performance

The laughter would continue through a singing performance from Rosa Rose who sang his now famous Too Much Fi A Pound A Rice as well as several other verses that found favour with the gathering.

It would peak with Eastman, a veteran of comedy and who is a staple for comedy shows across the Caribbean including Laugh Till You Belly Bus' in Saint Maarten. His comedy comes in the form of short stories with the punchline at the end.

The Chinese, he said, are responsible for most of the diseases in the world for the last 20 years. "Every year the Chinese celebrate some animal or some living creature. I remember the year they celebrated the year of the cow - Mad Cow Disease, cows dead. Then they celebrated the year of the bird - Bird Flu, bird dead. This year they celebrate the year of the pig - Swine Flu, pigs dead. Next year, a lot of men going to be in trouble because I hear they plan to celebrate the year of the cock ..." There was an explosion of laughter.

That was the nature of his storytelling for a 25-minute set that deserved and received an encore - a joke about Bruce Golding's brain being the most expensive of all the Caribbean leaders.

Truly funny

Donna Hadad a Trinidadian was irreverent and truly funny. She told a story about having to endure a Brazilian wax and how she will never do one again, and how her husband would have to search through the forest to find pleasure.

International dancehall star Shaggy, who sat in the front row, was material for their acts and Hadad was no different. At first she seemed surprised to see him sitting there. She shook his hand and then proceeded to declare that based on the firmness of his handshake, she knew he was well endowed. He laughed and the audience laughed along with him.

Abrahams has a song he debuted on the Ity and Fancy Cat show about Edith Allwood Anderson, the president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, and her poor taste in wigs. This time he sang a wrap of the year in review that was creative. He also spoke about a possible scenario on how Buju Banton's meeting with the gay community earlier this year may have unfolded. He also threw in a few Tiger Woods jokes for good measure.

Explicit content

Most of Miss Kitty's set was comprised of explicit sexual content and she thoroughly entertained the women in the audience. So too did Lemon and Cathy Grant, whose character, Granny P, began a little slowly but ended up quite entertaining.

Ity and Fancy Cat repeated a skit from their television show called The Psychiatrist and the Man in Pink. It was so funny that at one point Fancy Cat, straining to hold back the laughter, begged Ity for time to allow him to get back in character. A fish swimming in a goblet placed on an end table was the centrepiece of the set.

The duo also performed their skit mimicking the Colombian sales team seen on television selling a variety of wares. "What are you doing over there, you supposed to be here." They closed the show after a short stand-up routine of their own.

Producer Owen 'Blakka' Ellis afterwards said he was surprised by the turnout and suggested that next year they would have to try for a bigger venue to accommodate the growing legion of fans. Based on this year's show, perhaps the National Stadium could be considered as a possibility for next year.

Lemon gets interactive with the audience

Barbadian comic Trevor Eastman performing at Christmas Comedy Cook-Up.

Michael Abrahams delivering a few special notes at Christmas Comedy Cook Up at the Hilton Kingston Ballroom on December 26.

Ity (right) and Fancy Cat performing one of their hilarious skits at the Christmas Comedy Cook-Up, held at the Hilton Kingston ballroom on December 26.

Ity (left) and Fancy Cat performing their comedy routine about Reneto Adams during the Christmas Comedy Cook-Up.

Ms Kitty gets sexually explicit with her jokes at Christmas Comedy Cook-Up.