Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

It’s hard to believe this accomplished hour is Runi Talwar’s Fringe debut. He delivers his fluently paced hour with charm and ease, sharing entertaining insight about something that’s affected him throughout his life.

It’s all about the concept of luck or – more specifically – ‘unluck’. When he was born in India, a priest examining his star chart decided Talwar would be cursed forever. His mother took several steps to counteract this rather unfair foretelling, including giving him an optimistic name. Runi is short for Arunim, or ‘glow of the rising sun’ in Hindi. 

It’s tricky going through life being treated as if you’re unlucky, and Talwar’s got a few vivid examples of it when he was growing up in New Zealand, having moved there aged four. The most memorable has to be a moment watching the 2004 Cricket World Cup when, at the age of ten, he got the blame for Sachin Tendulkar’s bad luck. Poor kid.

After meeting his British girlfriend in Australia, where he’d moved for university, his luck took a few ups and downs as he tried to make plans to join her here. While this makes for some more entertaining stories and observations, you couldn’t say he had more misfortune than most. But it became a self-fulfilling prophecy for him – so much so that he resisted using his full name as it almost felt too optimistic and hopeful. 

Talwar’s got some fascinating insight into comparative levels of racism in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, and if you’ve never heard of the concept of 'net-positive racism', you’re in for a treat. The set could do without a slightly hack reference to Dundee, but otherwise it’s an assured hour from a man who’s written for the likes of Hypothetical, Have I Got News For You and The News Quiz, and who is definitely one to watch.

Review date: 12 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Ashley Davies
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard