Nish Kumar: It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourself, Dudley Town Hall - review

When a comic describes Piers Morgan as a piece of gammon injected with white privilege, you know you’re in for a good night – and you know the star attraction knows his audience.

In a borough where 67 per cent of the population voted ‘leave’, Nish Kumar knew at least those who had come out to see him at Dudley Town Hall last night were probably the other ‘remain’ voters.

But the crowd was still diverse and the jokes flowed all night. It was all started with a superb support act in the form of Kumar’s friend, Sarah Barron.

She was sorry to tell us, immediately, that she was “not Canadian, but the bad one”. She was American.

Having lived in the UK for six-and-a-half years, she admitted UK the country had exfoliated the positivity out of her. The audience had never felt so proud.

Barron, however, was also keen to explain to the audience we could not just live off “Blackpool” and the film “I, Daniel Blake” for the rest of our lives, which soon put us in our place.

She explained how she was currently suffering with the eight-year rash in her relationship, having missed the seven-year inch, and how she had resigned herself to staying with friends whom she hated until one of them died, and her anger with ‘hashtag’ loved-up relationships. It was something we could all relate to.

She was not allowing those who said they had “married my best friend” or those who claimed their “mom is my best friend” get away lightly either.

As she put it, those were the people who had gone out in life, tried to make friends in the real world, and failed.

“Mothers are programmed to like you,” she so aptly put it. Harsh, but true. She did say this country had made her negative but she was very funny all the same.

Then it was time for the headline act, Nish Kumar. Aged 33, he already has the weight of the world on his shoulders – but that’s because he refuses to accept something he sees as plain wrong pass him by without comment.

And his main bugbear these days is, funnily enough, Brexit.

“Brexit is like someone who has never driven before phoning up a test centre and booking their driving test for the next day.”

It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourself, is the name of the tour, and after calling the Tories the “Oceans 11 of incompetence”, where everyone keeps walking away before the job is done, he then explained how the only way Jacob Rees-Mogg could ever make any sense would be if one day he was revealed to actually be Sacha Baron Cohen in disguise.

And don’t get him stared on Indian Brexit voters, who he made it clear made no sense to him.

“The biggest complaint Indians get is not being integrated enough – what’s more integrated than being a racist?”

He wasn’t sitting on the fence and he was ready to take a pop at everyone and everything.

But it wasn’t all Brexit, he also covered racism, sexism, classes and terrorism.

“The only classes that can get away with not watching the news are the ones where the news doesn’t affect them.”

He had a good point. A disabled person who had had their benefits cut was likely to be listening to the news to find out what cuts could hit them next.

But soon it was back to Brexit or, more importantly, the obvious links between voting to leave the EU and US President Donald Trump’s rise to power.

“The UK and US are driving off a cliff edge like Thelma and Louise, with the US looking after its little brother.”

He asked the audience who was worse off. Most, tragically, agreed it was us. Kumar also poured scorn on the Brexit backers who tried to compare the Second World War fighting spirit with their own will to leave the EU.

He explained how most generations involved “were never part of the Second World War and can’t even survive a bit of snow” and how we raided colonies for supplies during the war effort.

“I hope Gibraltar is busy stock piling goods and medicine.”

As well as touching on the fact he looks like Liverpool’s star striker “Mo Salah going to a funeral” and enjoys being congratulated on Twitter for his goals, he also covered more serious aspects, like when he was stopped in a Canadian airport, lost the plot, and screamed at the security staff, “do you really think Isis are going to be flying business class?” as they rummaged through his bags.

There was still time for a few side-swipes at Home Secretary Sajid Javid, comedian Ricky Gervais and even Lisa Simpson.

It was a show that never left sixth gear, raced along at 100mph and was with filled frustration, anger, bemusement, horror and, most importantly, clever, well thought out, intelligent and very funny comedy.

If you thought his rants were full of passion on BBC’s The Mash Report, you ain’t seen nothing until you see Nish Kumar live.