Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 23, 2008 News
By Alex Wayne
Even a drug addict can become a man of phenomenal value if given the correct treatment, love and much needed supervision for rehabilitation.
Kirk ‘Chow Pow’ Jardine, who is one of Guyana’s better rated stand up comedians, entertainer and promoter, did not attain his present status by simple means. It took him a tedious and gruesome journey from drug addiction, to rehabilitation and later to complete recovery.
During a recent interview, Jardine reflected on his days on the streets, enslaved to drugs and vulnerable to mistreatment from strangers. His reminiscences of those dreadful days brought some painful memories.
However, he still managed to smile as he mused on the year 1998 when his guardian, Andrew Carter, took him off the streets and paid for his rehabilitation at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Centre.
Now ten years later, Jardine has grown into one of the more sought after entertainers, popular for his most hilarious stand-up comedy routines.
He never fails to impress his audiences and has attracted tremendous crowd support at every event he performs. He is now five years into professional entertainment.
Jardine is a very ‘outgoing’ individual who still has a deep craving for various forms of sporting activities.
From hosting ‘hairstyling contests’ and bottom hours parties in the 1980s he became a dancehall DJ which was the beginning of his journey into ‘real entertainment’.
He must have touched the environs of almost every nightclub since his name soon became a very ‘talked about feature’. He was soon bombarded with contracts and gigs from proprietors and promoters of significant entertainment activities.
Soon he became a fixture at the Vizion’s Disco in Versailles, West Bank Demerara where he built his fame as a DJ and promoter whose creativity was noticeable in his music selection and excellent planning of entertainment events.
Jardine said that after his rehabilitation, he did practically nothing significant in entertainment, just focusing on ‘developing his talents and skills’ as he puts it over. Just around this time he was invited to audition for the Godfrey Naughton-directed ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and that was his introduction to the stage, theatrical exposure and his discovery of his abilities as a stand-up comedian.
Realising that he ‘found something he loved doing’, Jardine soon had directors giving him roles in various local plays and of course propelled him in securing a role in ‘For better, for Worst’ produced in 2004 and receiving rave reviews by many locals.
Soon he realized he could effortlessly joke offset. Luck struck and entertainers Andre Wiltshire and Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones invited him to the Upscale Restaurant to be a part of their team which ‘rocked that joint’ on weekends. There he kicked off with comedy and was instantly heralded as a ‘sizzling newcomer’.
He was featured at shows on the last Friday of every month and his jokes and routines found favour with patrons and the management at the restaurant.
Not long after he met Pradeep Samtani who gave him a role in the stimulating play ‘Rainbow Rani’, which created quite a stir here in 2005.
He landed his first promotional contract with Giftland Officemax that year and the character ‘Chow Pow’ was born.
There aren’t many stand-up comedians in Guyana but that does not deter Jardine, who notes that “stand-up comedy has a place in Guyana and will develop fully given the much needed support and exposure”.
Jardine then began tapping into the minds of promoters and soon managed to persuade many to have stand-up comedy included in their entertainment curriculum. Soon he, Henry Rodney and Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones became ‘must haves’ at many massive shows and other related events, signaling the dawn of a new entertainment feature.
Jardine performed in Barbados in 2006 with the finest of Caribbean comedians the likes of Lui Antoni, Larry Joseph, Trevor Eastman, Miguel Brown and many others.
He indicated that his most memorable performance was alongside theatrical legend, Dave Martin this year at the newly constructed Theatre Guild.
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