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Paul Chowdhry review – tawdry gags about Gypsies, gay people and the French Paul Chowdhry review – tawdry gags about Gypsies, gay people and the French
(35 minutes later)
Paul Chowdhry’s touring show, PC’s World, neither interrogates political correctness, as he claims, nor even baits it in an interesting way. Instead, it’s a parade of tawdry gags about Gypsies and gay people, chavs and the French. The Stand Up for the Week host styles himself as a comedy gunslinger, here to “fuck up” his audience and say the things the rest of us are scared to say. But he shows nothing to justify this inflated self-image – no ability to develop an argument, no original insights, neither quick wit nor joke-writing flair.Paul Chowdhry’s touring show, PC’s World, neither interrogates political correctness, as he claims, nor even baits it in an interesting way. Instead, it’s a parade of tawdry gags about Gypsies and gay people, chavs and the French. The Stand Up for the Week host styles himself as a comedy gunslinger, here to “fuck up” his audience and say the things the rest of us are scared to say. But he shows nothing to justify this inflated self-image – no ability to develop an argument, no original insights, neither quick wit nor joke-writing flair.
In fact, the jokes are poor – whole routines hang around weak puns like “burqa king” or “Isis bucket challenge” – and his logic defies understanding. (“We live in a dumbed-down culture. You’ve got to get insurance on everything...” Eh?) He takes occasional pains to distance himself from the low-level xenophobia, but is happy getting a laugh from lines like: “It’s not Mo Farah, it’s some other Malteser-head.” And, when he’s accosted downstage by a drunk female punter, his first response – after speechlessness – is to suggest she’s a prostitute.In fact, the jokes are poor – whole routines hang around weak puns like “burqa king” or “Isis bucket challenge” – and his logic defies understanding. (“We live in a dumbed-down culture. You’ve got to get insurance on everything...” Eh?) He takes occasional pains to distance himself from the low-level xenophobia, but is happy getting a laugh from lines like: “It’s not Mo Farah, it’s some other Malteser-head.” And, when he’s accosted downstage by a drunk female punter, his first response – after speechlessness – is to suggest she’s a prostitute.
There’s nothing, then, that you mightn’t find at a Jimmy Carr gig – save that Carr can write and deliver a mean joke. Chowdhry’s set flickers into life when he invites a white audience member to pronounce a Bengali audience member’s name; it’s both playful and palpably tense. Elsewhere, one or two autobiographical reminiscences transcend the prevailing cliches.There’s nothing, then, that you mightn’t find at a Jimmy Carr gig – save that Carr can write and deliver a mean joke. Chowdhry’s set flickers into life when he invites a white audience member to pronounce a Bengali audience member’s name; it’s both playful and palpably tense. Elsewhere, one or two autobiographical reminiscences transcend the prevailing cliches.
Maybe I’m just not his target audience: to the amusement of many in his largely British-Asian crowd, Chowdhry makes hay with the distinctions between Bengali, Punjabi and Gujarati, and milks the comedy Indian accent remorselessly. But that’s as ambitious as he gets. “The media,” he sneers at one point, in a typically tortuous phrase, “want to make everything base-level for the human public.” Chowdhry’s not exactly reaching for the stars himself.Maybe I’m just not his target audience: to the amusement of many in his largely British-Asian crowd, Chowdhry makes hay with the distinctions between Bengali, Punjabi and Gujarati, and milks the comedy Indian accent remorselessly. But that’s as ambitious as he gets. “The media,” he sneers at one point, in a typically tortuous phrase, “want to make everything base-level for the human public.” Chowdhry’s not exactly reaching for the stars himself.
• On tour: Roses theatre, Tewkesbury, Friday 10 October (box office: 01684 295074); Royal Spa Centre, Leamington, Saturday 11 October (box office: 01926 334418)• On tour: Roses theatre, Tewkesbury, Friday 10 October (box office: 01684 295074); Royal Spa Centre, Leamington, Saturday 11 October (box office: 01926 334418)
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