It was surprising to see that Romesh Ranganathan’s debut fringe show, Rom Com, was not listed as one of Time Out’s top ten newcomers. His solo stand-up show is bloody brilliant! This vegan misanthropist will remind you of your grumpy grandad, as he moans about hating idle chit-chat with strangers as well as with family friends.
Rom Com offers a bit of everything. His schoolteacher days provide Ranganathan with some brilliant material as he comments on school uniform and names used in school books. Satire is rarely done well these days, with ‘Have I Got News For You’ being the only satire show to really dominate our televisions. Ranganathan’s social commentary on racial discrimination and vegetarianism are not to be missed. His apt observations will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. His personal anecdotes about disagreements with his wife over the upbringing of their children are utterly hilarious. He even jokes that when his kids are grown up they will have to ‘pick a side’, as they are mixed race.
Some might deem Ranganathan’s pace and timing a little slow, yet his casual and relaxed delivery of punchlines made his set even more unpredictable and hilarious. Rom Com has it all; personal anecdotes, puns, satire and silliness. Ranganathan seems to be a real prankster at heart, often using his ethnicity as a way to get him out of awkward situations, by pretending that he has just arrived in England and seen snow for the very first time. If satire is your bag then this show is not to be missed. Ranganathan is definitely one to watch.
