Shamik Chakrabarti: Despite Appearances – Soho Theatre, London

Making his international debut outside his native India, comedian Shamik Chakrabarti makes sure to start his inaugural stand-up UK set with some local colour. Observations about airport travelators, what we imagine summer heat to be like and the ubiquitous transport phrase “See It. Say It. Sorted” help to break the ice, warming us up before setting out his main thesis: that while he may look like a sorted individual, inside he’s something of a man-child.

Chakrabarti stitches together several small elements, from how his height caused him to receive a back injury in the first minute of his football game, to a safari in a tiger reserve disappointingly devoid of any feline activity, and the differences between driving in India and the United States, where he also spent some time.

This is all the build-up, though, to the most substantive part of his routine: recounting the time he left his brand new laptop in the back of a motorised rickshaw in his home city of Mumbai, and the comedically Kafkaesque attempts to report the theft to the local police. While the officers he encounters are all sent up, especially when their most common question is “why would you do that?”, the bulk of the humour’s target is Chakrabarti himself. As he eventually finds a policeman who’s willing to help track down the missing device, a journey through various CCTV networks brings the comedian a view of himself that he relays to us with self-deprecating charm.

Chakrabarti’s gift for storytelling through stand-up is evident. And while one may yearn for some of his earlier scenes to have callbacks as his final story reaches its conclusion, what we do get is a sufficiently deserved payoff that makes the whole hour feel justified and coherent.

After continuing at the Soho Theatre next weekend, Shamik Chakrabarti will take Despite Appearances to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. From there, one hopes we’ll see much more of him in the UK – his brand of dry, hilarious comedy will be a welcome addition to the circuit.

Continues until 3 May 2025