Nishant “Nish” Kumar was born in Tooting but his family originally comes from India. “I come from a long line of Hindus and irreligious Marxist agitators — and I’m somewhere between the two,” he chuckles. He is not afraid to be provocative on race issues. In his show he says: “Racism is like cricket. It was invented here but perfected in Australia.”
Inevitably his parents wanted him to join a profession. “They wanted me to have a proper job. It is an immigrant parent’s dream for their children. Their generation didn’t necessarily feel secure and having a good career was a defence mechanism. Once you are part of the infrastructure they can’t kick you out.”
He currently lives in Shepherd’s Bush but grew up in Croydon. “It was a very different Britain to the one my parents experienced when they arrived. I don’t have their anxiety, I feel comfortable being as useless as I want.”
He is being disingenuous. He has a degree in history and English from Durham University and has worked hard at his career, earning his parents’ support after initial doubts. “They come to see me twice a year in Edinburgh and London. The first time they are terrified, the second they enjoy it.”
His girlfriend Amy Annette will also be seeing his show in Edinburgh. She is co-editor of the book I Call Myself a Feminist and is hosting a discussion during the Fringe entitled What Women Want which Kumar will take part in.
His brother Nathan will, unfortunately, not be seeing his show yet. He currently works in Berlin for Deutsche Bank. “He’s concerned about Brexit but he doesn’t think he will be sent home.”
Satire has returned to the Fringe with a vengeance this year. Everyone is doing political humour, from pun comedian Darren Walsh to Kumar’s offbeat flatmate James Acaster. If it is not gags about Brexit it is gags about Donald Trump. “I guess we are always responding to what’s happening around us,” says Kumar, while tugging on his T-shirt, which bears the names of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart — two of America’s leading comic commentators.
Kumar is a strong favourite for this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award. It is a prestigious prize that helped launch the careers of Steve Coogan, Lee Evans and Frank Skinner but he plays down any suggestion that he is fiercely competitive. “I don’t feel I’m in competition with anyone. My sense is of it being like school: I don’t want to beat anyone but I don’t want to get left behind. That’s a great motivator. I like impressing my friends.”
Nish Kumar is currently on tour. Dates here.
