Notable Indian comic, Sapan Verma, makes his Fringe debut in a storytelling-based comedic hour about navigating the lines between being ‘internet famous’, and the fear of retaliation for engaging in political commentary.
Nostalgic Bollywood songs welcome the audience before Verma enters and immediately conveys a personable presence. He makes unbelievable claims but luckily brings snaps of newspaper headlines on a TV screen to prove the absurdity of reality. Combining goofy and self-deprecating humour with sharp insights into middle-class Indian life in urban Mumbai, Verma eases the audience – Indian and others – into the story to which that half of his show is dedicated; a story about a mid-20s Verma who tried going viral by releasing a video speaking against a local conservative political party, and the hijinks that follow.
Verma succeeds in setting the scene – you can almost see him at his not-so-posh Mumbai flat with his parents as he fears for his safety – and debates what’s more important; freedom of speech in a democracy (easily conflated with comedic fame), or the lives of loved ones and yourself. Amid heated discussions of ‘cancel culture’ in the UK, it is easy to forget that the stakes can be much higher elsewhere.
Though a few jokes are over-explained and there are some fumbles, Verma easily wins the audience’s favour. We want to laugh at his jokes, we want him to be cast in an advertisement with his Bollywood crush Deepika Padukone, and we want him to be safe. A great pick at the Fringe for a peek into the complexities of being a comedian in India.
‘Shame on Me’ runs until Sun 27 Aug 2023 at Pleasance Courtyard – The Cellar at 18:40