Review: AHIR SHAH: ENDS, Soho Theatre

“It’s gonna take more than Martin Lewis to save us now”

Ahir Shah: Ends begins with a sweet memory of Shah watching the first episode of Goodness Gracious Me, a sketch comedy show featuring British Indian actors, with his grandparents, hearing them laugh for the first time. Even before he announces himself and runs up on the stage, Shah makes the importance of his family clear. Indeed, family is the main focus of the show (along with a healthy dose of politics). 

Shah is an incredibly quick talker, which I love, as it means you can get through quite a few topics within sixty minutes. He jumps from joke to joke with ease, going from telling the audience that his name means “Prostitute King” in Arabic to ranting about Martin Lewis, the “Money Saving Expert,” within minutes. Indeed, the show gets into politics quite quickly after some name-related jokes, with Shah attacking the Conservative Party. However, this aggression takes a quick turn as Shah begins to reflect on his own personal joys, comparing being happy while to country is falling apart to having Cumbawumba stuck in his head at a funeral.

One of the highlights of the show is Shah’s reflection on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, or, as he refers to him, “The Perfect Indian Boy.” As someone who is still learning about British politics and the history of the UK, it was fascinating to learn more from Shah, particularly about the British Indian population. What is even more surprising is Shah’s passion about the positive aspects of Britain, claiming it to be the least racist country in not only Europe, but possible the world. Shah also comments on how “Someone had to be the first to walk through the door,” making the hilarious comment that “Maggie and Theresa walked so Liz could fly.”

While there are quite a few funny moments in the beginning of the show, they tend to become more and more infrequent as the hour goes on. As Shah says, “Occasionally, the comedian is joking,” Unfortunately, that turns out to be a bit too true during this show that focuses on dark subjects and rarely gives audience members a break with jokes and laughter. He gets quite aggressive, at times even pulling away from the mic to yell in frustration. While he certainly has every right to be angry at the situations he is describing, particularly the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, it tends to feel like he is yelling at the audience in a state of fury that does not fit the category of standup comedy.

The show’s darker turn leads to more about Shah’s maternal grandfather, who left his family in India to move to the United Kingdom in the hopes of raising money for them to come join him. For five years, he lived on an 8-8-8 system with two other men, with each of them working two eight-hour shifts and sleeping for the other eight so they could share one bed to save money.

There are some absolutely heartbreaking moments that Shah discusses as he makes the point that “The whole point is that everyone’s children will get to go without saying.” Shah also talks about his wife and there is a beautiful moment where he describes the moment he first met her and fell in love, comparing his experience to the arranged marriage his grandparents had. He considers marriage to be the “most optimistic bet ever,” a funny yet strongly accurate observation of the world. 

Ultimately, Ahir Shah: Ends is a fascinating show, but it ends up feeling like more of an aggressive talk than a comedy performance. The comedic moments are brilliant and really let Shah’s sense of humour shine, but I would have liked more of them throughout the show instead of just toward the beginning.  

Ahir Shah: Ends ran from 22 to 27 January at Soho Theatre.

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