Vir Das has an extraordinary story to tell.
Accused of ‘vilifying the nation’ by the Indian Government he heads home to Mumbai on a plane - afraid he will have to give up his comedy career or abandon his country.
It’s a true story, which happened in 2021, and which Das has made it the framework for this powerful show.
Like many of those in the audience Das feels halfway between India and the west, with modern habits and expectations clashing with traditional family values.
So we join him on this imaginary flight across the globe as he considers the struggle to reconcile these conflicting forces.
Jeopardy in India has a different nature than in the west - as he illustrates with a series of different examples, encouraging the audience to mine their own experiences to reinforce his point.
Das has his own perspective on the rules of comedy - which he shows, with clever examples of punching up and punching down. Comedy, he argues, is more flexible than we think.
He slips into Hindi frequently for the punchlines, before obligingly translating for the non Hindi speaking audience. It’s an interesting technique - giving us a real feeling for the cultural adjustment he is constantly making to be able to stand in front of us at all.
Indian English, with its sing song rhythms and intrinsic playfulness is a brilliant medium for storytelling and comedy.
There is plenty to laugh at in Indian daily life, whether it is food, toilets, education or overbearing relatives. Vir gives enough explanation and context for western ears, while earning shrieks of recognition from the Indian members of the audience.
But there are also huge obstacles and risks for an Indian-based comic - which Vir Das' true story illustrates very clearly. What some in the western world might call ‘culture wars’ pale into insignificance by comparison.
At its heart this is a very funny beautifully constructed and powerful exploration of cross cultural consciousness, with a genuinely emotional story at its core. Das makes his points land while never forgetting to make the audience laugh.
Das is careful not to make himself too much of a hero - but his superb storytelling illuminates the more nuanced perspective possible when you look at issues from both sides.
Vir Das: Wanted, until August 28. Buy tickets here.
four stars
