A CRITICALLY acclaimed comedian who is returning to Colchester on Halloween says the city has a very “active comedy audience”.
Nish Kumar, 39, from Wandsworth, is set to bring his Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe tour to Charter Hall, on October 31.
The stand-up comic, who has been active since the early 2000s, was previously named as one of the Guardian and The Telegraph’s best comedians of the 21st century, and has sold-out numerous shows across the UK.
Nish has appeared at Edinburgh Fringe, hosted BBC Two’s The Mash Report and has appeared on other popular TV shows like Taskmaster, Live At The Apollo, QI, Have I Got News For You, and much more.
In Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe UK tour which kicked off at the start of October, Nish tackles climate collapse, income inequality and the “emotional sensation of being a British Indian Man who isn’t going to vote for a British Indian Prime Minister”.
Ahead of his most recent show in the city, Nish spoke to The Gazette about what makes Colchester a great location for his comedy tours.
He said: “There has always been an active comedy audience there. I used to do gigs at the theatre inside the university.
“But yeah, I think there’s always been a sort of very engaged audience in Colchester from a combination of people who actually live in the city and university students.”
Nish, Don’t Kill my Vibe was “loosely” inspired by a moment during the Covid pandemic in 2020 whilst out for a walk.
He was on the phone to his brother, who lives in Germany, and he had asked how the “UK was handling Covid”.
At the time, Nish was just “really giving out about Boris Johnson” on the phone and man had walked past, they locked eyes.
Shortly after, the man mentioned Nish on the app formerly known as Twitter, declaring their surprise that Nish is a real person and not a character.
Nish said: “It definitely made me laugh.
“I thought that that was an interesting thing to kind of go: ‘okay, if you're like this off stage. Why are you doing it on stage?’
“What's the rationale for doing this type of comedy?
“When I think about what people need, it is levity and escapism, I respect that impulse.”
When it comes to career highlights so far, he thoroughly enjoyed his time on Taskmaster but the thing he enjoys doing the most is his stand-up shows.
He said: “When you start being able to sell tickets and people come to see you because they want to see your specific type of comedy, that's very gratifying and something I definitely don't take for granted."
During a tour he doesn’t get much time at the places he visits, as Nish normally “swings in and swings out” of locations but he has confirmed he has a fondness for the University of Essex.
He said: “I have a real fondness for the university because my uncle went to university there.
“He's always very excited when I am doing a comedy show in Colchester.
“My principal memory of being in Colchester, last time I was there, I would say a man drank seven beers over the course of my show.
“I'm not normally a comedian where the audience is like that... but this guy was getting really on it, and I really respected it.”
Remaining tickets for Nish Kumar's Colchester show can be purchased at colchester-events.co.uk/event/nish-kumar-nish-dont-kill-my-vibe/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here