Ep 3. Stand-Up

In the third episode of Russell Peters vs. the World season 1, titled "Stand-Up," Russell Peters takes on the task of performing stand-up comedy in different languages and in front of audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The episode kicks off with Peters gearing up for his first challenge, performing stand-up comedy in Arabic in Dubai. He admits to being nervous as he has never performed in Arabic before, but he's excited about the challenge. Peters rehearses his set with the help of a translator, and he's able to deliver some punchlines in the language, albeit with a bit of hesitation.

The setting of his performance is a grand theater in Dubai, packed with a predominantly Arab audience. Peters' opening remarks in Arabic draw a huge applause from the crowd, and he goes on to deliver his set, alternating between Arabic and English. He's able to tickle the audience's funny bone with his jokes about dating, family, and cultural differences. The audience is on board with his jokes in Arabic, and Peters seems to have won them over.

Next, Peters travels to Tokyo to perform stand-up comedy in Japanese. He meets with a Japanese comedian who helps him translate his set and provides him with some tips on how to win over the Japanese audience. Peters spends the day rehearsing with his translator, trying to perfect his pronunciation of the Japanese language.

In Tokyo, Peters performs in a small comedy club in front of an all-Japanese audience. He begins his set in English but transitions to Japanese, which immediately gets a laugh from the audience. Peters' stand-up comedy involves a lot of physical humor, which the audience appears to appreciate. Overall, the Japanese audience warms up to Peters and even gives him a standing ovation at the end of his set.

The third challenge takes Peters to Mumbai, India, where he performs in Hindi, trying his luck at pleasing his fellow countrymen. Peters jokes about the Indian obsession with cricket, arranged marriages, and the diversity within India's culture, which evokes laughter and applause from the audience. The audience seems to particularly enjoy Peters' Hindi jokes about the difference between North Indian and South Indian people.

The final challenge of the episode takes Peters to Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he's tasked with performing stand-up comedy in Dutch, a language that he doesn't even speak. He meets with a Dutch comedian who teaches him some basic phrases, and Peters quickly learns the importance of pronunciation in the Dutch language. Peters spends most of his rehearsal time trying to perfect the accent and pronunciation, all while attempting to come up with funny one-liners in Dutch.

When Peters takes to the stage in Amsterdam, he seems to struggle with the Dutch language, often falling back to English when he can't remember a certain word. But much to his surprise, the audience seems to appreciate his effort and laughs at many of his jokes, even if they're not totally understandable. Peters even manages to get some laughs out of the Dutch language itself, poking fun at its unique idiosyncrasies.

Overall, in this episode of Russell Peters vs. the World, Peters proves that comedy transcends language barriers and cultural differences. Despite being out of his element at times, he's able to entertain and make people laugh all around the world. The episode is a testament to the power of humor and its ability to unite people from different walks of life.