Nish Kumar on racism, technology, and politics in comedy show at McCarter Theatre

“The Daily Show” strikes again — or rather, the British version of it. On April 2 in McCarter Theatre, British stand-up comedian Nish Kumar went on a tirade about politics, discussed generational differences, and almost forgot his own punchline in a rollicking show that had the audience rolling in their seats.

Hailed as one of the 50 Best Comedians of the 21st Century by The Guardian and The Telegraph, Nish Kumar is a progressive political comic, on par with the likes of Jon Stewart and John Oliver. Kumar also co-hosts the podcast “Pod Save the UK.” Interspersed with more personal commentary and crowd work, his show on Thursday, “Angry Humor From a Really Nice Guy,” kicked off his American stand-up tour with a segmented yet rapidfire, uproariously funny survey of the problems facing American and British politics today.

The driving tempo of the rock music that heralded Kumar’s entrance on stage should have been my first hint that this show would be fast-paced. As Kumar strode into the lights, the audience — which included many Brits and other comedy fans whom, I would soon realize, were already keenly familiar with Kumar — erupted into applause.

“What an absolute pleasure to be back in America,” Kumar remarked amid the cheers. Though his tone carried no hint of sarcasm, the audience still caught onto his sarcastic reference to U.S. politics, and burst into laughter. 

After a brief detour about middle age, workout routines, and the effects of white imperialism on black and brown people’s bodies and fat — “we carry the weight of history,” he said — Kumar launched into a recap of the state of American politics as he sees them at the moment. 

“It’s amazing how quickly you guys clarify that you didn’t vote for him,” Kumar began, poking fun at American tourists that he recently encountered while on vacation. He went on to suggest that non-Trump supporters should take a play out of MAGA marketing by creating an opposing blue hat that reads “Whoops” so they wouldn’t feel the need to apologize to every non-American they met.

Without once naming the president, Kumar also bashed Trump for his administration’s handling of the Epstein files; the war in Iran; and the recent firing of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, which he compared to cutting off the head of a hydra — her replacement, surely, would be just as bad.

Kumar concluded by reading — with a straight face — a prepared statement satirically declaring full support of Trump, because, as Kumar said, “I am here on a work visa.” 

Kumar’s delivery could be characterized only as passionately fast. He spoke so quickly that he outlined the current state of American politics in a mere 14 minutes. This rapid pace would last the entire show; it was truly a hold-onto-your-hat kind of performance.

Kumar then hopped back across the pond to discuss UK politics, starting with the Unite the Kingdom rally which drew over 100,000 people into the streets of London on Sept. 13, 2025 for what he described as a “white riot.” 

Kumar did not shy away from condemning the rally’s racist roots. “If you’re still blaming problems in our society on people of color and not on our collapsing economy, that is racism,” he said to applause. 

He also used the topic of the riot to highlight the inherent contradictions of racism on both sides of the Atlantic. With his elbow propped on the mic stand, Kumar noted that with its current Muslim mayor, many people say that London is “the most dangerous place in the world.” Under Mayor Mamdani, he warned half-jokingly to the crowd, New York City will be next to receive that title. 

Kumar also dove implicitly into the field of immigration politics. In a comment that dually served as both an expression of sadness about the previously-mentioned racist march that took over his home city, and as a comment against ICE in the United States, Kumar explained that he loved London not just because it was his home city, but because of his city’s openness to everyone. “If you want to be a Londoner, you can be a Londoner,” Kumar said. 

One of the biggest problems with politics, Kumar continued after a water break, is rooted in modern technology. Thanks to algorithms, he said, “we are struggling to agree on basic facts.” 

In a nod to recent government crackdowns in countries such as Ireland and Australia on adolescent phone and social media usage, particularly in public schools, Kumar engaged in some crowd work and asked the audience how they felt about removing phones from teenagers. An 18 year-old teenager spoke against the idea. “I was 16 once…” the audience member stated, “and I needed a phone for everything.”

“You know what?” Kumar responded to the teenager. “I agree with you!” Leaning down, he yelled into the mic, “You have to take the phones off the f**king old people!!!” 

Here, Kumar took a detour to compare different generations. The old people “have ruined the f**king world with their cell phones!” he said. In Kumar’s opinion, Gen X is radicalized and “gets away scot-free,” while political leadership has fallen on the “dumbest generation” — the millennials. 

“As for the Gen Zers in this room, I’m not going to say anything about you,” Kumar finished. Having inherited a politically and environmentally unstable planet from the previous three generations, “Gen Z is entitled to be annoying.”

Getting back to his point about technology and politics, Kumar called for people to “rest [back] control of the systems by which we disseminate information” from the rich tech industry oligarchs. 

Later, Kumar announced that, because his girlfriend and would-be opener for the show had ditched him — though only in the professional sense, for another gig — he would be taking any question for the next ten minutes in order to fill his allotted time of 90 minutes. I thought he was joking, until the lights came on. 

Over the next ten minutes, Kumar answered questions ranging from the differences between American and English comedy audiences (“you heckle less”) to his main influences (Chris Rock’s stand-up special from when Kumar was 14 years old). Then the lights went down again so that he could finish his set.

This is where the show officially went off the rails. As he crescendoed to the finale, in the middle of discussing the importance of honesty in relationships, Kumar suddenly broke off and covered half his face with his hand. Chuckling, he said, “I’ve just realized that this whole thing has built to a callback that I haven’t done yet.”

The audience roared with laughter.

So Kumar went backwards — “let’s consider this an appendix” — to talk about ICE, noting how it was funny that the 70-year-olds who “never forget” World War II forgot about it in the context of ICE raids. He then explained that WWII was fought over six years, the same amount of time that he had spent without a girlfriend, building to a climax of why “I never forget.”

And that was the show. I have to admit that the joke was somewhat lost on me, though it seems that the rest of the crowd had followed, as the audience around me cheered and clapped with their hands over their heads. Or perhaps they, like me, were simply laughing at the accidental joke that Kumar had forgotten the one portion of the show that centered on the phrase, “never forget.”

Either way, the 90-minute show had truly been a rollercoaster of comedy at its finest. Kumar’s memorable clever remarks — on racism, generational use of technology, and politics at large — kept me laughing long after I left the theater and re-confronted the news of American politics. His fast-paced wit brought levity to otherwise serious topics, and seemed designed to truly maximize our ticket without sacrificing comprehension — a perfect balance. I’ve decided I’m a fan. 

Annika Plunkett is a staff writer for The Prospect, Associate Newsletter Editor, and a Spanish Translator. She can be reached at ap3616[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.