Soho theatre, London
Paul Sinha's show takes its name, Extreme Anti-White Vitriol, from an accusation levelled at the British Asian comic by the deputy chairman of the BNP. At times, one wishes it would do what it says on the tin, if only because the plea it actually makes for sympathy across class and cultural barriers is too agreeable to amount to incendiary comedy. But what it lacks in heat, Sinha's set makes up for in its enlightened spirit, and some fine comic writing applied to the plight of a miffed mid-lifer growing intolerant of intolerance.
What's satisfying about Sinha's work is that he carves out thoughtful and nuanced perspectives even from familiar material. The fulcrum of this show is Sinha's Radio 2 encounter with Nick Griffin's deputy Simon Darby, debating the racism (or otherwise) of the BNP. Yes, Sinha scores cheap points at the expense of that party's flimsy ideology, including a routine that ? riffing on Griffin's Holocaust denial ? suggests alternative reasons for the sudden disappearance of six million Jewish people. But Sinha also uses his on-air spat to critique a culture that increasingly substitutes comedians for politicians when there are important things to discuss.
And even when Sinha's comedy is at its most schematic, the jokes are funny. The gag triggered by the sight of England fans dressed as second world war pilots at last summer's Germany game is a formulaic one, but the punchline (Greek fans sneaking into a match against Turkey in a Trojan horse) is no less amusing for it. And his conventional attack on the Daily Mail's vendetta against autonomous women nevertheless supplies some pleasingly ridiculous examples. "I had an abortion 20 years ago," runs one headline, "and now my TV can't get BBC2!"
This is textbook comic writing ? too textbook, perhaps, given that Sinha's standup favours writing over delivery. You get the sense that he'd perform this set in the same way ? rattling through it, pausing only for nerdy pleasure at his own cleverness ? even if the audience weren't there. It never cuts loose or celebrates its liveness. An additional problem is Sinha's nostalgia for a supposedly more tolerant bygone Britain ? which feels like a liberal version of the BNP's rear-view romance. But these are passing quibbles, with a set that's otherwise highly sensitive to the inadequacies of lazy thinking. In the face of prejudice and propaganda, says Sinha, retain the courage to start conversations with people dissimilar to yourself. You may find unexpected kinship. Or failing that, you may ? as in Sinha's case ? get a rich hour of standup out of it.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/feb/25/paul-sinha-review
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