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Sid Singh: Illegally Funny

COMEDY


Sid Singh: Illegally Funny

Cabaret Voltaire

36-38 Blair Street
Main Room: AUG 4-28 at 16:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can

Sid Singh: Illegally Funny

What happens when a comedian, a human rights lawyer, and an illegal immigrant are the same person? Sid Singh returns after his sold out run in 2019 to teach you all about the crazy world of climate change, refugees, conspiracies, and finally: how to hack the US Supreme Court! Find out why this show has sold out shows all over Europe and then afterwards please do not tell the cops!

Hailing from the Bay Area, California, Sid Singh is an accomplished stand up comedian and writer whose work has appeared on BBC's Muzlamic, Comedy Central UK's Modern Horror Stories, BBC3's Comedy Shorts, Comic Relief and more! In addition, he was a cast member at the famed Boom Chicago theatre in Amsterdam where he wrote and starred in their show The Future Is Here.

In 2019 his Edinburgh Fringe Show American Refugee was listed as one of just four Free Shows to Watch by The Scotsman who stated that "This is a game-changer of a show, or at least it should be, because playing the game Sid's way, you get the feeling that your chances of winning are exponentially increased. " and Radio Haha which stated: "His coolness on stage is remnant of that of Dave Chappelle, whilst his level-headed demeanour is likened to late-night talk show hosts like Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert. How is this guy not bigger than he currently is?"

Sid has since toured the show around America and Europe headlining theatre shows in New York, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, Barcelona and more as a result! In addition, his debut comedy album Amazing! Probably reached number 3 on the iTunes comedy chart and can still be streamed on all major platforms today!

This year we have two entry methods: Free & Unticketed or Pay What You Can
Free & Unticketed: Entry to a show is first-come, first served at the venue - just turn up and then donate to the show in the collection at the end.
Pay What You Can: For these shows you can book a ticket to guarantee entry and choose your price from the Fringe Box Office, up to 30 mins before a show. After that all remaining space is free at the venue on a first-come, first-served bases. Donations for walk-ins at the end of the show.


News and Reviews for this Show

September 1, 2022    The Wee Review

Even Sid Singh seems baffled by the sheer volume of people cramming into the Cabaret Voltaire basement on a Saturday afternoon. The voluble American spends around fifteen minutes marshalling his troops into various nooks and crannies, and even a bench on the stage itself. ‘You know I was only half full yesterday?’ he chides. ‘You could have saved yourselves a lot of trouble!’ He’s clearly delighted though, and it’s a lit touch paper to a cannonball of a performance.

Illegally Funny ostensibly deals with Singh’s side line in refugee law (his primarily a stand-up), and a significant legal victory Singh, as part of an organisation helping refugees, won against the Trump administration. But this is but a sliver of the many subjects he deals with. Taking in the personal and political, and the intersection between the two, his energy level is relentless. One is left a bit breathless, but it’s worth keeping up for the gems of wisdom among the incredibly high gag rate.

Particularly salient is his simple but self-lacerating assessment of left-wing politics vs right-wing, particularly in terms of the US. Why do the left constantly lose? ‘We’re correct,’ he says, unequivocally, ‘But we’re annoying.’ Evil, we can deal with. Boris Johnson he says, applying this formula, got forced out once he became annoying to too many people. Singh may protest – perhaps with a slightly forked tongue – that he’s actually a dumb guy; but he has way too solid a grasp on the political landscape, and a mastery of his material for us to believe that. He may have a curiously optimistic, some would say distinctly American, view of the world and the communal power of people to make a difference, but Illegally Funny is nothing if not a strident and intelligent show.

Yet, what may be the highlight of Singh’s set is saved for the end: the reason why he believes his dad is a genius. Perhaps one of the few moments where Singh slows things down a touch, it’s a twisty and hilarious tale of immigrant opportunity. It’s a fantastic bit of storytelling about an unusual, by any metric, life. It’s strange, rich, and funny enough for a show on its own terms. Come on Sid, next show; ‘Bad Dad’. How about it? It’s pretty certain those guys on the bench would come back for that. Click Here For Review


August 10, 2022    Chortle

It’s been said before: why isn’t Sid Singh bigger than he is?

An American comic of Indian heritage, he has huge energy – or maybe I just mean he’s very loud – and a manner of unstoppable bonhomie. He is obviously smart, a human rights lawyer, but is judged to have his priorities skewed, as that is what he fits around his main job as a comedian.

Singh can obviously ride both those horses well, although I must admit to being more impressed by his legal skills blocking something terrible that Donald Trump wanted to do than his undeniably vigorous material about politics, conscience and where to get life guidance.

He has some wonderful stuff on conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers, a theme that crops up a lot this year, but he has the best takedown. This is only a fragment of his show, Illegally Funny, but it resonated with me.

... Click Here For Review


August 8, 2022    Butterwort

5 stars – ocean-broad hilarity

Is racism weirder in the US, in the UK, in Malta or in Romania, from the eyes of an Indian Californian (illegally(?)) living in Great Britain?

Sid Singh is a professional stand-up comedian, a human rights lawyer, and… an idiot (his word, not mine!). Through jokes and stories about dating smart women and touring all around the world, his comic voice leads one to keep their laugh ready. Nonetheless, at the core of this play are some fundamental questions: who do you listen to? That is to say, who or what do we ‘believe’, when it comes to controversial pieces of news, or conspiration theories?

Theoretically, one can believe their partner, or father, until you see that, however much of a genius they can be, their point of view is also biased. And here starts the hero’s quest, a reflective basis upon which amusing episodes stand out.

The comedian who won a legal battle for human rights against Donald Trump has some stories to tell. And you won’t regret listening to them. Click Here For Review


Three to See: Three Shows About Life Experiences

August 4, 2022   Three Weeks

Three to See: Three Shows About Life Experiences

The Fringe is full of people telling life stories, whether it's their own or someone else's, whether true, embroidered or false, so I think it's time to honour that particular type of show. They occur all over the Festival, in fact, in every kind of genre, but our first pick for this section is from comedian Sid Singh, who returns to Edinburgh to explore "what it means to actually be smart by making you laugh at the crazy things he did and the amazing things you did since the last time he was at the Fringe". Expect to hear about his work as a refugee lawyer and advocate, his anti-vaxxer girlfriend, about helping to beat Donald Trump in court, and arguments with his former gang member turned cancer scientist and climate change sceptic father. Phew, a lot to take in. Click Here For Article