Dev Goswami gets chatting to Kunal Rao, a performer in the new stand up show called Digging the News…
If you love comedy and think that the news is a bit more hilarious than it’s supposed to be, you should keep your evening free this Tuesday as The Comedy Store will be playing host to a new stand up show. Titled Digging the News, the stand up comedy show will feature Kunal Rao, Sapan Verma, Sahil Shah, Abish Mathew, Neville Shah and Atul Khatri. The show is a satire on latest news events and will cover topics that range from politics and sports to international and business news. The show promises to be a whole lot of fun. We get talking to Kunal to find out more.
What is Digging the News about?
Digging the News is a news-based stand up comedy show where comedians will address current affairs in their own unique, inimitable styles. What makes this show unique is that comedians will also take suggestions from the audience for recent news items and make up jokes on the spot.
How did the idea of doing a satire on current affairs come about?
There have been several successful news-based comedy shows on TV. However, East India Comedy (who along with The Comedy Store has jointly produced the show) felt that there was no stage equivalent of the same for fans who appreciate live acts. There’s also a lot more freedom to say what you want in a live show, as opposed to doing it on TV.
What would you say is the inspiration behind your show?
In most cases, the news is funny enough. To add to it, the way certain news channels and newspapers present the news makes it even funnier! If you sit back and think about it, a lot of news is bizarre and amusing. Between the mother of all scams and Beti Bachchan, the petrol hike, rupee slump, Sunny Leone and rainy days, there’s enough for us to talk about!
At the end of your show, what do you want your audiences to leave with?
We would love for the audiences to step back and think ‘Hmm, I didn’t think of that.’ We’d also want them to think of this as not just a funny, but also an intelligent comedy show, as it talks about current affairs, politics and international news. We're trying to share some already existent opinions in a form that is made more receptive and importantly, more memorable. Having said that, given the stress the average Indian goes through because of the news, we’d like them to view it in a lighter vein and for our nation to be able to laugh at itself.
You can catch Digging the News at The Comedy Store on September 25 at 8.30pm. The entry fee is `300. Contact 43485000 for more details