Comedy / Interviews
Interview: Nish Kumar
Comic Nish Kumar brings his new show Long Word… Long Word… Blah Blah Blah… I’m So Clever to Colston Hall’s Lantern this month. Nish’s latest outing, which scooped the Best International Show award at this year’s New Zealand Comedy Festival, addresses politics in comedy. Does comedy need to be politically neutral? Why is comedy leaning to the left – and is that even a problem?
Tell us a little more about the show…
This one examines our changing political landscape and how, as we’ve become more liberal in our outlook on social issues, we’ve become increasingly conservative economically. I look at a world in which a black James Bond seems achievable, but at the same time our financial system seems to be based entirely on the game Monopoly. And I ask whether the left is worse at branding its ideas than Islamic fundamentalists.
Well, does comedy need to be politically neutral? Is comedy leaning to the left, and is that even a problem?
In brief, No, Yes, No. But to expand: I’d welcome more conservative representation in comedy, if I’m honest. I think so much of the best art or even political thought comes from true debate. The sitcoms Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock both centre on a clash of political philosophies between two central characters (Leslie and Ron in Parks, Liz and Jack in 30 Rock). Arguing is really funny.
The comedy and theatre worlds – the arts generally – have always tended to the left, though. Why is this?
I think it’s possible to be a creative person and come at things from almost any political perspective. I think with comedy it really is harder to come at it from a right wing perspective, but it’s certainly not impossible.
So, we’re in a strange paradox at the moment: socially liberal, economically conservative. Is this a world you’re comfortable in (and inspired by)?
To be honest, I think we’d all rather be living in a more equitable society where I had to write jokes about cats or something.
There’s plenty of intelligent, thought-provoking comedy around these days: think Robin Ince, Josie Long and others. Do tough times breed good comedy?
Yes, there’s definitely a relationship between those two things, and it does feel like there’s more political comedy around at the moment. But there was also a lot of great comedy produced under the Blair era – arguably the best political comedy of the last ten years, in The Thick Of It, which satirised the New Labour spin machine with brutal efficiency.
Nish Kumar is at The Lantern on Wednesday, October 21. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.colstonhall.org/shows/nish-kumar
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