British-Asian comedian Sachin Kumarendran, who was recently nominated for Best Show at the Nottingham Comedy Festival, brings his debut hour ‘Deceit’ to the Edinburgh Fringe. 

The show takes the audience through the highs and lows of Sachin’s successful and unsuccessful attempts to make it onto TV. 

In 2018 he was approached to be on the TV show Shipwrecked which actually proved to be only the first of multiple flirtations with shows based around being marooned on islands... Exaggerating, lying, playing up the size of his career achievements and his home and indeed trying to pass himself off as physically taller have all led to a series of embarrassing failures...

Sachin appeared in the BBC1 prime time entertainment TV show This is My House and worked as a comedy writer for the Labour Party during the 2017 General Election campaign. He was a finalist in the national standup comedy competitions Manford’s New Act of the Year and Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year and was shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award. ‘Deceit’ was recently awarded Runner-Up in the Late-Stage Comedy Award for best show at Nottingham Comedy Festival 2022. 

Sachin Kumarendran's show ‘Deceit’ is at Just The Tonic @ The Caves – Out Of The Box at 6.00pm from 3rd – 27th August (not 14th). For tickets go to www.edfringe.com

Read more Edinburgh interviews here.

Picture: Steve Ullathorne

• What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth)

I normally take a Gaviscon tablet before I go on; because, at the ripe old age of 28, I’m already starting to fall to bits. I remember learning in school history that before modern medicine, the average life expectancy was 35. I always doubted that, but it is now starting to feel like I’m three quarters of the way through my natural lifespan.

• What irritates you?  

All the serious socio-economic injustices in the world certainly rankle. And I’ve still not gotten over that Ronaldinho goal in the 2002 World Cup. 

• What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?

I used to routinely microwave metal butter knives as a child, as them being piping hot meant that the butter melted and spread more easily. I’ve since been informed that this was highly inadvisable and not the life hack I had thought it was.

• What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?  

I tried to pass myself off as taller than I actually am on a first date, using a set of platform wedge insoles. But - unable to wear the insoles forever - I realised I was going to have to at some point reveal my real height as being a few inches shorter than my counterfeit height. I got around this by slowly tapering down using slightly shorter insoles for each subsequent date. This certainly feels stupid and quite contrived when I reflect on it, but the woman I was deceiving on those dates is still with me to this day; so maybe this is actually an advisable dating strategy, who knows.  

• What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?

How many working comedians there are - it’s a much bigger industry than I thought. And more new people keep starting all the time at an increasing rate. I can’t help but wish I’d been able to start out in comedy 20 years sooner. Things were probably more racist back then, but also there would have been so much less competition; so perhaps the bookings I’d have lost due to discrimination, would have been outweighed by bookings gained due to there being no one white available?

Interview continues here.