The political state of the world may be a grave cause for concern to most, but comedian Ahir Shah has endeavoured to find the humourous side of it all in his latest stand-up tour, Duffer.
Painfully relevant in the current political climate
Having debuted at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and earning him his second nomination for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Shah’s Duffer (a Hindi word meaning ‘fool’ or ‘clown’), is currently touring through the UK, with Brighton as the eighteenth stop on his journey.
Shah uses personal experiences – such as his own mental health, and his grandmother’s deportation when he was five - to discuss broader issues such as immigration, religion, race and mortality.
This was unquestionably different to a typical stand-up comedy show. Instead of merely a continuous string of jokes, there were interruptions of emotional, solemn recollections of trying parts of Shah’s life. The most striking story is undeniably his reunion with his ill grandmother during a trip to India. The laughter makes way for silence, and the audience hangs on to every word of what seems like a difficult memory for Shah to relive, even till this day.
Although profoundly personal and often emotional, Shah’s set is meticulously thought through, evident in recurrent references such as a Bohemian Rhapsody thread that weaves through the set, proving to be lighthearted in some parts and slightly darker in others. His ability to find humour in even the darkest of moments is commendable, and it takes the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions.
Shah’s anecdotes of his life as a British Indian are funny, endearing, heart wrenching and relatable on many levels. Most notably, his content is painfully relevant in the current political climate, and perhaps it is just what is necessary, even if just to lighten the mood for an hour or two.
