By James Shackell 
Five years ago, Romesh Ranganathan was a maths teacher in Banstead, Surrey, a village so small and nondescript it literally doesnât qualify as a UK âtownâ. He hadnât yet performed in front of Prince Harry. He hadnât created a BAFTA-nominated TV show co-starring his own mum. He hadnât been shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. And he certainly hadnât sold-out three headliner shows at the Hammersmith Apollo. Five years later, all those things have happened. Itâs a rise that has you scrabbling for words like âmeteoricâ, so I was pretty excited to join the packed-out crowd at The Arts Centre Pavilion, all of us queuing up to see his latest show, Irrational.
It was a motley crew, ranging in age from a baby (no joke â the best heckle of the night was a loud gurgle right in the middle of a punch line) all the way to grey-haired pensioners, which probably speaks to Romeshâs broad appeal. His style is world-weary cynic meets gruff East London geezer; I clocked the first âbruvâ at about three minutes in. But his current runs a little deeper than your average observational comedian.
Irrational isnât strictly speaking a new show, and you might recognise the odd bit from Youtube clips or Romeshâs appearance on BBC panel shows. But it doesnât really matter. Heâs performed the set so many times that the timing is damn near perfect, digging deep silences between set-up and punchline that only seem to amplify the inevitable payoff. Some of his best material concerns his kids and the pitfalls of fatherhood. Turns out Romesh and his wife were so smug about how well the first child turned out that they decided to double down. It didnât work.
As good as Romesh is (and he is very good) he doesnât quite hit the Olympian heights of, say, your Dara OâBriains. Itâs not an entirely fair comparison â Dara has been performing since the early 1990s â but you can still feel daylight between the consummate pro and a guy still honing his craft. Thereâs a gap there that has something to do with audience stamina: after Romeshâs 60-minute set I was satisfied, but ready to leave. Dara could have performed for three hours straight and I would have happily eaten a power bar and strapped in for three more.
None of that really matters at the end of the day, of course. The rise of Romesh has been incredible, and he has the talent to go as far as he wants. Time will tell just how far that is. One thingâs for sure though: that would have been the best maths class of all time.
Romesh Ranganathan â Irrational is on at The Arts Centre Pavillion til April 23
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/romesh-ranganathan