Irrational Live

Romesh Ranganathan makes a strong case that the world is intolerable, but mostly because he refuses to meet it halfway. His baseline state is simmering irritation, aimed at targets that barely warrant notice: shared bench seating at Wagamama, people making complicated orders at Starbucks, or his wife suggesting he swim in a T-shirt to hide his gut. The material works best when he turns that grievance inward, acknowledging that his anger is completely disproportionate to the offense.

Recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London during his 2016 tour, the set caught Ranganathan right as his television profile exploded. He had recently stepped away from teaching secondary school maths in Crawley, picked up a BAFTA nomination for his BBC travel series Asian Provocateur, and become a fixture on panel shows like Mock the Week. The transition to three-thousand-seat rooms did not soften his delivery. He still carries the posture of a tired teacher who would rather be anywhere else, maintaining classroom discipline whenever a heckler tries to chip in from the back.

Much of the hour centers on his family, particularly the contrast between the affection he has for his first child and the complete exhaustion caused by his feral second son. He talks about race and television diversity quotas with the same unsentimental shrug he applies to marriage fidelity and cinema popcorn sizes.

Reviews in the Guardian and the Scottish arts press praised the tighter craftsmanship compared to his earlier Edinburgh Fringe hours, noting that his irritable persona worked better over an extended set once leavened with self-deprecation.