Vir Das

When it comes to comedy that touches on controversial and taboo subjects such as religion, politics and sex, comedian Vir Das ticks all of those boxes. Born in the north of India Vir Das started off his illustrious career a decade ago as a Bollywood actor before diving into stand up comedy head first. He is now an international name having conquered all the major global markets including the US and the UK, making audiences critically examine their own lives and questioning their cultural biases. It takes bravery and audacity to joke about identity politics but Vir Das takes no shame in telling it like it is.

Vir Das debuted on the late night US TV talk show Conan performing a routine that involved making fun of Trump, religion and breakfast cereal. One of the more provocative lines of his stand up show is on racial identity, when he says: “It’s a good time to be Indian, not the best time to be brown but if your going to be brown, Indian is the best brown, Indians are on top of the food chain, we are the white people of brown people!”

For the first time Vir Das will be making his way to Australia to perform as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival. Having received many raving reviews and appearing on TV talk shows all over the world, Vir Das is now becoming one of the most well-known English-speaking comedians from India and a great deal of his success is down to his raw talent and honest criticism on the topical issues that make people most uncomfortable.

May 18–21. The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville, $45.50 Tickets & Info: www.factorytheatre.com.au

By Daniel Jaramillo.