Sachin Kumarendran @ Just the Tonic at The Caves

Sachin Kumarendran is a liar – or so he says – but the first half of his debut hour is filled with such bizarre and funny anecdotes, including hidden heels and peroxide-based hygiene routines, that the truth loses all importance anyway. Kumarendran leads us blissfully through Deceit, recounting stories of his brushes with fame on island-based TV shows, his Middlesborough-ness, and his girlfriend (if she even exists), with such skill that it would be easy to forget that it’s his first time at the Fringe.

Easy to forget, that is, if he’d let us. Kumarendran likes explaining a joke, the punchline often being a breakdown of the structure and then just why the former punchline was so successful. In other hands, this deconstruction could be tedious but the five-strong audience revels in Kumarendran’s cleverness, in his ability to callback seamlessly, to make you enjoy a joke and then enjoy it all over again. 

He proves his commitment to his comedy countless times, especially in the retelling of his pursuit of the perfect poster quote. It is, unfortunately, at this point that the show loses its way slightly. Kumarendran, like many before him, leans on an ironically uninspiring PowerPoint presentation to carry off key parts of his routine. Despite its clunkiness, the section still delivers laughter, but it is Kumarendran’s asides and interjections, as opposed to the actual on-screen content, that keeps the audience engaged.

Kumarendran is inarguably at his strongest in these moments of authenticity. His crowd work is brilliant; it takes a lot to give accurate definitions of both a chode and a Fleshlight™ to the same audience member whilst keeping a straight face. His eagerness reeks of integrity, and there’s no doubt that as the run progresses and his crowds swell, this will be a debut Kumarendran can truthfully boast about.

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Sachin Kumarendran: Deceit, Just the Tonic at The Caves (Just Out Of The Box), until 27 Aug (not 14), 6pm, £5