Laugh last, laugh longest

Chennai Comedy’s bubbliest comic will be claiming your attention for a whole hour at his debut solo show this weekend

“The biggest critic of a standup comic in Chennai are the other comics,” says standup comedian and Chennai Comedy producer Sudarsan Ramamurthy aka Soda, of all praise for the camaraderie and utter lack of rivalry in the city’s standup comic fraternity.

It’s a fraternity that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, from first-timers trying out open mics to seasoned comics doing tours. The audience has grown with it, says Ramamurthy, and — thanks to the boom in standup comedy across the country — has become much more discerning and picky. “There are a number of shows across the city, but the demand is still more than the supply,” he says, “So today, it’s easier for newcomers to get a break — like a slot in an open mic — than it was back when I started.”

Slow start

He hadn’t begun all that long ago: his first open mic was in October 2014. But the scene has changed drastically since then. “Those were still the days when people would associate standup with just mimicry; when people would stroll in to an open mic in a cafe and be unsure of what to expect,” recalls Ramamurthy.

Now, Ramamurthy has graduated from open mics to group standups in halls, to headlining for solo artists, and finally, to a show of his own. He will be performing his debut solo, titled ‘Fizz Out! An Hour of Soda’, this weekend. It’s an idea that still seems a bit daunting. “There will be a mix of old and new content. There is some stuff that I haven’t spoken of before, like feminism. This time, I’m going to push myself harder to interact more with the audience. Usually, even when I’m hosting a show, I interact with around 10% of the audience, just till the energy goes up. But this time, because I have an hour, I’ll take it slow.”

And because it’s a whole hour, it’s challenging in more ways than one. “I’ve never been on stage just by myself, in a show where it’s just me,” dwells Ramamurthy, “In any other show, you know that, ‘I am going first, this other guy is going next. If I don’t do such a good job, this guy is going to save the night’. So this time, I have to be really specific about the material.”

That brings him to the second challenge of his solo. “I’m very bad at writing stuff down and sticking to script. I go from here to there, up and down in sequence... It’s usually 60% script and 40% improvisation . But, I can’t do that this time,” he explains.

Ramamurthy quit his job to pursue standup full-time about a year ago, curating open mics, giving feedback to young talent and managing his own performances. “Now, I’m literally, verbally selling tickets to anybody I see,” he laughs, “It’s a different feeling for me to be selling my own show.”

Like any other performer in this line, Ramamurthy hopes this show will help widen his draw. “As a producer, when someone approaches me for a show, I ask them how many seats he can fill,” he says, “The same is expected of me. I think once the solo is done, my next challenge will be to keep writing more.”

Fizz Out! An Hour of Soda will be performed at Backyard, Adyar on October 27 and The English Tearoom, Alwarpet on October 28. Both shows begin at 7.30 pm. Tickets are available at www.bookmyshow.com