Preview his 2012 Leicester Comedy Festival

What's it's like being a gay, Asian doctor, comedian and quizzer?

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Nominated for the 2006 if.comeddie award, and nominated for best breakthrough act at the 2007 Chortle Awards.

Paul Sinha: 39 Years of Solitude - Fringe 2009
Live Review

Paul Sinha’s fourth solo Edinburgh show isn’t quite what you might expect – perhaps because he thought the advertised theme of being perennially single was one more ‘relateable’ than the true message of the show: that if more people were pedantic, annoying pub-quiz bores who just have to be right, like himself, society would be a much better place.

The link between his obsessive knowledge retention and singledom is that the former has filled the whole where, perhaps, a real relationship should be. Sinha’s last one failed in 1991 when his boyfriend told him he was ‘a tedious tosser who has no sense of humour’. And that from a man who though Mermaids was the best film he’d ever seen. It seems Sinha’s entire award-nominated stand-up career is an attempt to prove someone wrong.

The first half of his show sets all this up, an apparent attempt to move away from his box-ticking profile as the ‘gay, Asian, GP comedian’. Now we can add unspectacular performances on University Challenge, The Weakest Link and Mastermind to that CV, despite his compulsion for showing off knowledge. He’s the sort of comedian who checks Michelle Obama’s star sign to ensure a punchline is factually correct.

Some of this is a little pedestrian for a stand-up with a formidable reputation for incisive social commentary, as he spends more time setting the scene than cracking the gags – although when they do come, they have the clever/smart-arse edge you might expect from a man driven by pedantry.

Things take an upswing, though, when he describes how his zeal for quizzing has helped him out in real life. Yes really. Not so much the arcane information he’s acquired – though that, surprisingly helps, but the confidence it’s given him.

After conquering the Mastermind chair, sharing a platform with a Muslim extremist holds no fear – even if hiding from an angry mob as a Christmas comedy gig went very bad ,– riot police with tear-gas bad – a little intimidating.

All these treads are duly pulled together with an encounter with a skinhead on a train, making sense of that all that went before, tying up all the threads in a neat conclusion.

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Paul appeared at Giggle Aid IV in Sheffield to raise money for the work of the British Red Cross - so already he's a legend. But his 30 minutes were brilliant. Paul absolutely smashed it. He went down an absolute storm and everyobody loved him. Clever, superbly structured, side-splittingly funny. And his final five minutes were something else. I have no hesitation whatsover in recommending anyone to do whatever it takes to see Paul in person. Brilliant.

Max Newton, March 2013

U saw him at the Arc theatre in Trowbridge for my wife's birthday. We all had fun and the the kiss at the end was the best of the night - thanks, Paul

tony, September 2011

I saw him at Earlsfield and he was hurt your ribs funny.

Geoff, August 2011

Paul's material is well-structured, intelligent and funny, and he's a very likable guy. A great headliner.

Cheryl Tucker, October 2010

I saw Paul this weekend and his superb measured rant about the stupidity of modern life was a wonderful performance.

Alex Thorner, March 2010

Saw paul on Comedy Central on Saturday Night 02/01/10. New material razor sharp. Also one gag on the Now Show day before. A treat.

Mark Silcox, January 2010

Seen Paul many times and a massive fan. Just done four gigs for me over the weekend and was an absolute star at all of them, well loved by acts and audience alike, as many have said on here he deserves to be better known than he is. Keep up the good work Paul

JS, October 2009

Although I often crave more punchlines, Sinha is a great antidote to the breazy material floating around on the circuit. He has real opinions and real experiences. Though, dealing with my critiscism, when there is a punchline it is razor-sharp and intelligent. The man is underrated on the circuit - always a joy to watch and definitely deserved the Perrier nomination in '06. Great.

Marcia Connor, June 2009

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