Riffing on anxiety, death and Elon Musk, this comic takes no prisoners
★★★★
Factory Theatre, April 22. Until April 24.
Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN
Midway through his Sydney Comedy Festival show, British comic Nish Kumar
outlines the topics he's about to cover: anxiety, death and rage. No wonder someone
recently told him he should try more relatable material, like riffing on the contents of his fridge.
He'd already rattled through a litany of injustice and nonsense, from billionaire
biohacker Bryan Johnson – who injects himself with his teenage son's blood in a bid
to live forever – to his deep frustration at being told he should be 'pleased about the
representation' of having a fellow British Indian, conservative Rishi Sunak, in power.
The 39-year-old Kumar seems so energised by white-hot rage that he barely pauses
for breath. The breakneck style makes for an urgent and wide-ranging excoriation of
powerful individuals demonising minorities for their own gain.
Crucially, though, Kumar doesn't settle for making right-on points but draws
consistent belly laughs with his furious monologues, aided by vividly grotesque
descriptions of his foes – from Elon Musk to his transphobic comedy peers – and his
knack for unexpected but spot-on analogies.
In the second half of the hour, he turns his focus inwards, giving a potentially one-
note show some much-needed light and shade.
'I'm like this all the time,' he says of his exasperated state, reflecting on how exhausting being constantly outraged is and how it both drives and results from his anxiety.
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