Saturday, 12 August 2017

Asian Network Comedy, BBC Tent, Edinburgh Fringe

Hosted by radio DJ Noreen Khan, the show brings together five comedians with Asian origins to do short stand up sets, to be available for viewing on the red button and iPlayer in October.

First up was Kae Kurd with material of the difficulties of being a Muslim in the midst of the post EU referendum bigotry, poking fun at ISIS and the pressure from his parents to fall in love, something he's still keen to avoid.  It was a slick set, and Kurd is immediately likable, but a bit thin on the laughs.

The only one of the group who's not a UK resident, Aditi Mittal had an excellent piece on the huge damage inflicted on her country by imperial rule and partition, but also more personal revelations about the burden of her mother's demand for a grandchild.  Funny, with a bit of education thrown in.

An impressive beard and infectious grin heralded the arrival of Sunil Patel.  The uselessness of babies and his own lack of sporting prowess produced some good lines, but his material feels like standard thirty-something  angst.

In contrast to Patel's measured delivery, Shazia Mirza is quick-fire, confident and possessed of excellent timing.  But she's another under pressure to deliver a grandchild, an ever present theme it seems.  Very funny on her meeting with Queenie though.

The final act was Irish-Iranian Patrick Monahan talking about the impact of his very mixed background and the comedy of family gatherings, and an oblique look at terrorists.  He delivered the star quality the others lacked and fully justified his place as head of the line up.

An enjoyable evening, but, compared to last year's event, this felt like safe, conventional, observational comedy and it would have been good to see an act included that took more risks and showed some innovation.  Maybe next year....


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