Interview with comedian Sachin Kumarendran

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

I’m a 28 year-old standup comedian. I grew up in the northeast near Middlesbrough, and fled this notoriously dismal area aged 18 and moved to the cultural hub of Birmingham to study Physics at University. I still live there now with two friends, as well as a cat we adopted, who recently had 3 kittens. We’re currently looking after all of them until we can find long term homes for them. My parents also have a cat and a Golden Retriever, and growing up at one point we had 30 Guinea Pigs.

How would you describe your show?

The show recounts how various outlandish lies on my part – including my pretending to own a mansion and attempts to pass myself off as six feet tall (which I’m sadly not) – got out of hand and led me to a BBC One prime-time TV slot; but also nearly caused me to be marooned on a desert island at one point along the way. The show was awarded Runner-up in the Late Stage Award for Best Show in Nottingham Comedy Festival. And the people of Nottingham have unquestionably great taste in comedy.

What is your favourite part of your show?

There’s a section which recounts how I was approached to be on the return of the TV show Shipwrecked in 2018 – I think that stands out as a surreal, ‘oh yeah as if that happened to me’ series of events, and I’m really excited to bring that to the stage.

If your show had a theme song, what would it be and why?

Man for all Seasons by Robbie Williams was the theme song for the 2003 Movie Johnny English. This film (along with the early series of The Simpsons) was one of the first comedies I had access to as a kid – I think I still have the DVD somewhere – and I feel like watching and learning from it first set me on the comedy path; the latest stage of which is this Fringe show. So, I’d have to pick this as my show’s theme song.

What is one thing you hope audiences will take away from your show?

I often encounter a trope that Asian acts will primarily talk about being Asian. I’d like to be known for something other than that, and I feel like in my experience audiences do want to see something more original than that; a lot of the pigeonholing of comedians in this way isn’t really something that audiences are behind. I’ve tried to avoid pandering to stereotypical expectations in this show and hope that audiences will walk away thinking ‘yeah that was unlike shows we’ve seen before’.

If you could add a surprise celebrity cameo to your show, who would it be and why?

There is a surprise cameo of sorts in my show. I won’t say who though as that would spoil it. In terms of someone not in the show who I’d like to add; well, knowing my luck, if I name-drop anyone famous, in the time between me writing this and when the Q&A goes live, they’ll have been outed for doing or saying something grim. So, I’ll cite someone who’s already passed away (and thus is unlikely to make any imminent high-profile inflammatory statements) in Terry Pratchett. His books were incredibly influential for me growing up, and his sense of humour very much informed my own. I was genuinely quite sad that he passed away before I ever got to meet him.

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

There’s definitely some wider feel-good stuff; like the fact that it should hopefully provide really positive life experience, and with a bit of luck be something that I look back on when I’m older and feel like it was definitely time well spent.

There are also of course more practical career advancement goals associated with doing the Fringe; I certainly wouldn’t say no to, for instance, a boosted national profile and frequent lucrative bookings in the months following the Fringe. But overall, if people come and see my show, I’ll be happy.

What differentiates it from other festivals?

I’d have to say that scale of it, and how much that surpasses anything similar that I’ve been to. For comparison, during Leicester Comedy Festival – the biggest comedy festival in England – Leicester as a city does feel buzzing during that festival. But it’s not at the same level as the Edinburgh Fringe where it does just seem like there’s an infinite amount of stuff happening. Even being in Edinburgh and seeing shows for the full month, it feels like you’re barely scratching the surface.

What is one thing you would change about the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

Aside from the cost of going (as a performer or an audience member), which is already discussed frequently, one major downside to the Fringe is that it’s quite hard to switch off from work whilst you’re there, because reminders of the Festival are literally emblazoned on every available surface throughout the city. At least with a normal job, reminders of said job don’t adorn every object in your eyeline on your commute home.

How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career?

My parents were quite academically pushy growing up, and were always keen for me to go to university; an experience that was very helpful in terms of being around more creative people and in a city with more opportunities to engage with the arts etc. (I grew up in the northeast near Middlesbrough, which was not blessed with those things).

I still had an early career path that was quite different to what I do now though, with studying a Physics degree and getting a corporate job immediately after; a career in the arts might have been easier if I’d taken creative subjects further in the education system - but overall, I still feel like I’ve been pretty lucky in this regard.

What is your favourite thing about performing for a live audience?

The feeling of being in the moment is unparalleled. In the rest of life, I find I might be immersed in the moment for short stretches at a time, but I’d never go a full hour without having a second thought in my head in the manner that I do when performing an hour of standup.

What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you while performing?

Someone who I’d been making fun of got up on stage and grabbed me and threatened to personally throw me out. Thankfully the rest of the audience were opposed to that idea and expressed keenness for me to continue, so we reached a compromise where I continued performing, but didn’t make fun of the scary man again.

What's the most challenging or unconventional venue you've ever performed in, and how did it impact the overall experience?

I was once booked to do standup on a bus tour of central London. It certainly wasn’t the ideal venue for performance in terms of the acoustics, and I now see why a moving bus in central London isn’t the de facto venue choice for standup comedy.

Is there a piece of feedback you've received from an audience member or critic after a performance that’s stuck with you?

I did a gig at the Farsley Constitutional in Leeds, after which an audience member said I was the best comedian he’d ever seen. It’s a shame he wasn’t coincidentally called John Bishop or something, as it would have made a great quote for an Edinburgh Poster.

What is your favourite thing to do in Edinburgh when you're not performing? How do you relax and look after your mental health?

I always like to go up Arthur’s Seat. Generally, once I’m in Edinburgh and I’ve unpacked, I’ll head straight up. Piemaker on South Bridge once I’m back down in the city is usually my next port of call after that.

I think getting out of the hubbub of the city and into nature, especially during the Fringe, is really relaxing, and part of why I love Edinburgh so much is the ease of doing that – thanks to Arthur’s seat being so relatively centrally located for a proper in-your-face bit of countryside.

The exercise of climbing it also feels beneficial mental-health-wise, and I find going to the gym similarly helpful (especially during the Fringe, where the gyms are another means to find somewhere quieter where you can switch off from the festival somewhat).

Is there a show you’re excited to see when you’re up there?

Daniel Kitson, who I’ve never seen before and am really excited to see live, is back at the Fringe this year, as is Stewart Lee. I’m also keen to see Olga Koch, Pierre Novellie, Thenjiwe and Matt Price.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone thinking about taking a show up to Edinburgh? If you’ve never been before, what would you say has been (potentially) the most useful?

On the advice of more seasoned comics, the last time I went up to Edinburgh to do a split show, I didn’t drink any alcohol, which – for all that it might sound lame and tedious (and an affront to Scottish tradition) – was something that helped me feel like less of a shell of a person by the end of the festival.

When and where can people see your show?

My show is on every day from 3rd to 27th August inclusive (except for 14th Aug) at Just the Tonic at the Caves, Just Out the Box, at 6PM.

And where can people find you online?

You can find me on any of the below: