Anirban Dasgupta - Cry Daddy

It’s always exciting when a comedian plays with the form. You’ve got an hour to kill with an audience you have to win over, so stand-ups are always trying some new and interesting ways to build their hour.

Cry Daddy brings us tales of Anirban’s life in India, his family, and love of sport. Anirban’s warm stage presence and understated delivery draws you into every word he says. He lights up when he moves into talk about sport, which leads into a meta game of Audience vs Anirban, where he tries to win a game of comedy like it's a match. 

It wouldn’t be fair to spoil the entire conceit, but thanks to Anirban’s love of cricket and dream of being a sports star, he brings it into his comedy, earning points for good jokes, and losing points for the bad. It’s a clever idea, expertly crafted, and brought to life in a fun way.

Jokes returned once the game was laid out, but jokes about suicide and trauma seemed to fall flat in comparison to other areas, but it seemed to be a deliberate attempt to alienate us, so he could win us back with a stellar joke to cut the tension, which he did with great effect.