By Margot Thomas

LIFE IN the former Soviet Union under Josef Stalin was not much of a joke for millions of Soviet citizens, but even under the most repressive of regimes human nature manages to create smiles, and if they can’t  the government can do it for them .

From that Kafkaesque  scenario, a talented Panamanian team has created “The Joke Bureau” a new comedy that will premiere at the Theatre Guild of Ancon  (TGA) on Thursday, July 9 .

The play, written by Alfonso Grimaldo and  and Simon Terrera  tells the story of two joke writers for Stalin’s government sparring  over their creative differences.
When the Central Committee sends an inspector to check up on their work, they race to get the inspector’s by trying to get rid of each other. But they find out that the inspector has plans of her own. Can they survive the onslaught of revolutionary propaganda? Get rid of the tyrannical inspector?  To get the answers you will need to reserve your seats.

With Giancarlo Benedetti at the helm you can be assured of an entertaining evening and some insights into the warped thinking behind the old regime, as he and his crew navigate the ups and downs of Stalinism, with a compass pointing to laughter.

The performers supporting Giancarlo are  Michael Lindo, H.B. Twohy and Carina Weber.

You can reserve tickets through http://anconguild.com/reservations

Performances  start at 8 pm , July 9,11, 16, 18,23, 25. Donation is $15.