Conway revolutionizes stand-up comedy

MANILA, Philippines — There’s a storm brewing to hit Manila and the weather forecast is brace yourself for an evening of laughs with five-star interactive comic Eleanor Conway taking her revolutionary act called Walk of Shame for a can’t-miss, one-night stand at Johnny B. Good (formerly Hard Rock Café) on Levels 3 and 4, Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, Makati on Jan. 19.

It’s another high-caliber, stand-up comedy show produced by Prime i Events’ husband-and-wife team of Dilip and Saira Budhrani but Conway’s appearance is unprecedented. She’s a bombshell waiting to explode and what she has in store for her audience is something out of the books.

Conway makes no bones about her past and brings out all the skeletons in her closet. She admits to having been addicted to hard drugs and alcohol but insists she’s been sober the last three years. Conway was a ferocious clubber and party girl who got mixed up with the wrong crowd. As a music journalist, she hobnobbed with the likes of Justin Bieber, Oasis and 50 Cent. Conway dabbled in porn and found her way to Asia working for the Triads, a notorious Chinese crime group. The woman-about-town eventually returned to London, where she lives, and decided to make a living from talking about herself on stage.

Conway has been a stand-up comic since 2010 and carved a niche in the ultra-competitive entertainment scene as a self-confessing performer who pokes fun at herself for doing everything wrong to do right. She’s ironic, unconventional and totally hilarious. In 2016, she introduced her Walk of Shame act to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was a finalist at the Comedy Store King Gong competition. Last year, Conway toured the UK and Europe and consistently brought the house down with sold-out shows.

Conway has performed in the UK, US, Canada and different countries in Europe and is excited to take Manila by storm. She’s been described as charismatic, stunning, ludicrous and sexy by various critics, but the common thread is hilarious. There will be guaranteed laughs all over Johnny B. Good when she takes to the stage.

“I’ve always wanted to share my experiences with people and comedy is such an empowering way to do it,” said Conway. “It’s so simple. It’s just about you and your audience, nothing else really matters. I am a producer of my experiences and I’ve led a very high-octane life so far. I like to think that makes me more individual and unique. The challenge is bringing the humanity and common ground into the more unusual bits in order that it can relate to a wider audience. Others have said that my style is high-energy, confessional story-telling and I’d agree with that for sure.”

Conway said Walk of Shame is about the extremes in her life. “My story centers around my running away from myself to Asia for six years so it’s really amazing that I’m at a point where I can bring the show to the place where it all began,” she continued. “It’s really full circle for me. I think writing the show at the beginning of the process was essentially incredibly therapeutic. Without being dramatic, the process kept me sober in the early days for sure. The success of the show has meant that a new future has been created for me. I’m a touring comic now which I wasn’t when I got sober so it’s a really beautiful and very satisfying circle.”

Conway’s Manila stop is part of a 24-date Australasian tour. “The reason we got Eleanor for the show is not only because we want to highlight female comics but also because I admire how she managed to turn around her life and find humor in those experiences,” said Dilip Budhrani. “Prime i Events is focusing on bringing various talents from the Philippines and all around the world who have different approaches and stories and their brand of comedy, all for the love of stand-up and giving the audience a great experience and value for money.”

Walk of Shame will be hosted by Victor Anastacio with a performance by comic Red Ollero and the highly-energized band Part 3. Guests will be treated to wine and cheese before the show. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and close at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are priced at P2,000 for VIP reserved seating and P1,500 for standard free seating. For ticket details, call 0920-9717055 and 0917-5703057.