Edinburgh had its turn in August: in September the UK comedy world revolves around Greenwich.
Across five nights and weekend afternoons in September, top-tier comedians will descend on the National Maritime Museum for London’s largest and longest-running comedy festival. Take your pick from stellar line-ups fronted by a sucession of proper comedy A-listers. Television faves Frankie Boyle and Sara Pascoe are probably the biggest names here, but you can’t swing a cat without hitting a famous comedian – they’ll be joined by the likes of Tim Key, Fern Brady, Bridget Christie, Nish Kumar, Phil Wang and Bridget Christie. Inevitably several of the shows are sold out, but really you can’t go wrong whatever you choose.
The setting is pretty spectacular, too – performances take place in an outdoor stage with the Royal Naval College as the backdrop. Get there early to take advantage of the food stalls, bars and breezy end-of-summer vibes.
‘Who is Nish Kumar?’ was the title of, you guessed it, Nish Kumar’s debut solo show last year. He confidently answered the question with a delightful hour of stand-up. But just in case you’re still confused, he’s named this year’s show ‘Nish Kumar is a Comedian’.
You see, earlier this year, Kumar had his identity stolen. Not by credit card fraudsters or Melissa McCarthy, but by an anonymous group who used his promo picture as the face of an internet meme called ‘The Confused Muslim’. Kumar isn’t Muslim (he has an ‘ethnically ambiguous’ face), but that wasn’t the problem. He was definitely offended, but wasn’t quite sure why.
And so sparks a smart, gag-heavy show questioning identity, anonymity and what causes offense. Kumar’s really upped a gear this year – he’s still ‘a nice guy trying his best’, but the 27-year-old comic’s grown more passionate and thoughtful, and he has more to say.
The show’s essentially a collection of first-hand stories, and it’s wittily-written, with plenty of cracking punchlines woven into the tales. And although some topics feel a little familiar – British binge-drinking, disappointing his parents etc – he tackles them all with a great deal of skill.
Slick, sharp and with oodles of charm, Nish Kumar is a comedian, and a bloody good one at that.
See 'Nish Kumar – Nish Kumar is a Comedian' at the Edinburgh Fringe