★★★★
I was slightly late for Tarang’s show, but he didn’t waste the comic opportunity, asking the audience to indulge him while he fastidiously summarised what I had missed. The act itself revolved around key unconnected concepts which recurred, but never at the expected moment.
His hope that his therapist would promise to look at his being autistic, for example, invariably failed as she never offered him anything to draw. Then there was his unprompted inner monologue being periodically interrupted by segments of old Backstreet Boys’ hits like I Want It That Way. The idea that you might have a two-way discussion with a version of yourself from the future was as hysterical as something that made perfect sense in the context.
All of this interplayed with advice and interjections from his parents. The more crazy it got, the more it made sense, like an inverse projection of a David Byrne concert. A passing police car reminded him that part of the discussion involved continuing an interview with his personal immigration officer. Even the pauses carried the currency of punchlines. You may not see anything as funny or as original as this throughout this Fringe, so I’d try to try to get along to it if you can.
Tarang Hardikar: If I’m Not Wrong is on at Attic at Pleasance Courtyard until August 30th
