Review: Nish Kumar: It’s In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves, Grand Opera House, York, March 14

THE Mash Report’s Nish Kumar is firing on all cylinders with his 2019 tour, a whirlwind show that skewers all things politically turbulent (and what a ripe category for material that is, lately) and pulls no punches.

Supporting Kumar is Rosie Jones, who enthusiastically delves into addressing “the disabled elephant in the room”. Jones delivers wickedly funny, if taboo, punchlines with a winning grin, and this combo takes her far, even if a couple of set-ups feel somewhat well-worn.

Jones most importantly makes for a terrific support act: she has the audience loud and raucous, which is just right for Kumar’s opening set, focussing around the day’s headline news.

Kumar is really on top of his game, proven by his lampooning of Brexit, Trump et al without feeling at all that he’s covering old ground. His material on the Weinstein scandal similarly isn’t rote, rather a fresh, if despairing, take on how the entertainment world’s overhaul in 2017 has contributed to toxic masculinity further.

Kumar’s acknowledgement of his own tacit refusal to admit that a comic hero was at the centre of a similar scandal demonstrates his keenness not to appear superior to the crowd. He’s not compromising on his opinions concerning politics, racial criticism or sexism, but Kumar isn’t going to purely criticise others: he’s quick on self-deprecating material delivered through exchanges with his parents and girlfriend.

The evening whizzes by in Kumar’s company: he’s welcome back in fancy York any time.

Louise Jones