Ity and Fancy Cat launch season four - Duo brings puppetry to latest production

Olivea Hayles, Gleaner Writer

Ity and Fancy Cat used the launch of the fourth season of their comedy show to whet appetites.

The duo hosted the launch at the Fiction Lounge, Marketplace, which proved more than a suitable environment, on Wednesday.

Owen 'Blakka' Ellis opened with the welcome from Ellis International. He was followed by Digicel brand manager, Tshani Jaja, and other representatives from some of the show's sponsors, which include Restaurants of Jamaica, Supreme Ventures and Courts.

The general manager of Television Jamaica Ltd, Kay Osborne, was quite jovial as she congratulated Ity and Fancy Cat on completing production on a fourth season.

spoofed

Osborne joked that the duo could have walked away with a better deal had they known she would not have let the show be aired anywhere else.

"It's nice working with you and it's a pity you never knew you could have gotten a better deal," she said.

The Honourable Olivia Grange, minister of youth, sports and culture, commended the duo for their "versatility and dynamism".

Grange, who was spoofed in the last season, was openly hoping that this would not be repeated in season four.

Dr Carlyn Cooper thought otherwise. "I want to be spoofed because being spoofed by Ity and Fancy Cat mean seh mi reach," the University of the West Indies lecturer joked as she commented on the excellent calibre of the comedic duo's production.

As the keynote speaker, Cooper gave an interesting definition of laughter.

"Laughter is an orgasm triggered by the intercourse of sense and nonsense," she said.

Cooper went on to describe Ity and Fancy Cat as murderers as "dem kill people wid laugh" and as doctors because laughter is medicine.

After the animated speech by Cooper and the closing remarks, there were several performers, including Iceman, one of Owen 'Blakka' Ellis's protégés, Rosa Rose and Dr Michael Abrahams.

The audience was later treated to a small preview of season four of the Ity and Fancy Cat show, which premieres Sunday July 10, at 9:30 p.m., on TVJ.

The duo then took to the stage and performed a song on bleaching. They also treated the audience to some stand-up comedy.

Ian 'Ity' Ellis told The Gleaner that there will be a puppetry feature, more special effects to enhance the product, and the media production team, Broadvision and KBM Media, were merged for the first time.

Viewers can look out for a parody of the Manatt enquiry, and while he did not guarantee that there would be a parody of Mark 'Buju Banton' Myrie's incarceration, Ity stated that once they could find a way to pull humour out of the situation, then they would touch the issue.

With waiters offering hors d'oeuvres and the bar open to those who wanted to indulge, the launch catered to two critical aspects of Jamaica's culture: food and entertainment.