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Pros: A hilarious, naughty standup routine that will have you laughing until your sides ache
Cons: A few of the jokes were lost if you aren’t totally immersed in Indian culture
Summary
Rating
Excellent
Very funny, thoroughly Indian stand-up comedy that transcends cultural barriers. Edgy comedy traversing issues from sex and food through to politics and racism. A must see!
Vir Das is a fully-fledged Bollywood movie star who decided to try his hand at stand up. I’m very glad he did! He brings a totally different voice to the UK comedy circuit, with his hilarious perspective on growing up in India, studying in America, politics and religion. Vir got us all to shout out where we were from, to demonstrate that the audience was about 80% Indian (his traditional fan base) with just a small smattering of people from other cultures. I’m sure that will change as his reputation grows for comedy that is universally funny
Vir takes advantage of the fact that many of the non-Indian people in the audience won’t have any knowledge of who he is. He begins his routine by speaking in Hindi and teasing the audience that the show won’t be in English (which of course it is). This immediately cracks up the room, first all the Hindi speakers, then the English-only speakers, as they are let in on the joke. It sets the tone for a show where no one is safe, as Vir picks out members of the audience and teases them mercilessly. Having lived in many countries he’s also a great mimic who perfectly captures the accents and mannerisms of people from across the world – a talented man indeed.
He is also is the butt of his own jokes as he tells sweet, honest and sometimes slightly disgusting stories about his own life, including the tale of the girl who vomited during his first kiss. He exudes boundless energy and cheeky humor, keeping the audience in stiches throughout the hour-long show with just himself, a mic and a spotlight. Taste flies out of the window in this show, as he cracks joke about everything from masturbating with food through to terrorism and racism.
Vir is a fresh new voice and I would recommend snapping up some tickets and dragging your friends along to hear something new, whilst he’s in London. The initial run sold out, but four new dates have just been released.
Author: Vir Das
Director: Vir Das
Booking until: 5 November (the show is sold out but some extra dates have been added)
Box office: 0207 4780100
Booking link: http://sohotheatre.com/whats-on/vir-das-live-in-london
