Nish Kumar, Double Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee, who describes himself as “a very clever boy” brought his new comedy show, It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves, to the Riverfront in Newport on Saturday night.
The show opened with British comedian, Rosie Jones. Rosie has written for The Last Leg, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and Would I Lie to You?. What a sensational opening act Rosie proved to be. She teased the audience with an incredibly cheeky demeanor and well-planned comedy, joking about her cerebral palsy and her sexuality in a way that allowed the audience to be completely comfortable with the topics and laugh along with her wholeheartedly. She left the audience primed and waiting for more laughs.
I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect as I waited for Nish Kumar to take to the stage; I’d seen a few clips of him on YouTube, but the jury was still somewhat out as to how funny his show would be. I needn’t have worried. Nish did not disappoint.
Right from the off, Nish ranted. He ranted about Brexit; he ranted about Trump; he ranted about politics and politicians, in general; and he ranted about race. He even ranted about Ricky Gervais and how he’s let Nish down. Nish was a lot angrier than I had expected and this was blooming hilarious. Every time he got into a new subject, his hair would wobble all over the place with disdain. And he swore like a trooper, which I absolutely loved!
I felt Nish was able to really connect with the audience as he moaned about the state of our country and the state of America, and got us all chortling about the ridiculous situation we’ve ended up in. He was very much a people’s comedian and we were all able to unite, throw our heads back in laughter, and forget about our troubles, if only for a few hours.
As Nish brought the show to a close, there was an unexpected outburst / heckle from an audience member. I’d just like to pause for a moment and reiterate the golden rule of attending any comedy show: do NOT get out of your seat; if you do, be it at your own peril because you’re sure to be picked on! Towards the end of the show, one particular, disgruntled gentleman (who clearly wasn’t familiar with the golden rule) got up, put his coat on and started to march out of the theatre, which obviously caught Nish’s attention and got a reaction out of him. The guy responded with a bizarre slur about Nish’s watch, leaving Nish and the audience trying to figure out what the heck had just happened! I’ve never witnessed any sort of heckling at a comedy show before, but I must say, Nish handled it expertly. He didn’t let it put him off, but instead used to disturbance to his advantage to finish his set. Major kudos to him!
Nish Kumar now takes his show It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves to many more venues all across the UK over the coming months, starting with Bury St Edmunds this coming Wednesday. If Nish is coming to your hometown and you’ve not yet snapped up those tickets, I’d highly recommend you do so. He is well worth a watch! You can see all upcoming tour dates and venues on his website.