This Saturday, settle down for an all queer line-up of stand-up comics as they bring out hilarious jokes and anecdotes
The rumour was true, 2025, oil on canvas by Aksh Diwan Garg, an artwork on view at the gallery. Pic Courtesy/Art and Charlie
Why the name Queer Rated Comedy? — is the first question we ask city-based stand-up comedian Navin Noronha as he speaks to us on a late morning call, fresh from his foreign tour. “That is a pun on curated comedy, which is what most comedy gigs are,” he quips. From what started as Zoom call sessions with openly out comedians during the Covid-19 pandemic to touring Indian cities with all queer line-ups — Noronha has charted quite a journey with the show.
Aayushi Jagad, Navin Noronha, Ritushree Panigrahi and Madhvendra Singh
“When you travel to Australia, Europe or the United States of America, you can see how queer comics flourish there. In India, there is obviously a lack of representation. The idea was to create an inclusive environment where these brilliant artistes can test their material. Over time, you notice how everybody is bringing different perspectives to the table, and developing their own content, which is lovely to witness,” Noronha tells ahead of another set of Queer Rated Comedy that he is hosting alongside fellow stand-up comics Madhvendra Singh, Ankur Tangade, Ritushree Panigrahi and Aayushi Jagad at a Bandra venue.
An extension of the ongoing exhibition, To Make a Home With You curated by Mihir Thakkar that explores the human need for acceptance, comfort and belonging, for the queer community as well as allies, the stand-up show seeks to build the momentum for the evening on a similar idea, seasoned with humour and punctuated with anecdotes. “It is amazing to host an event that is solely based on queer comedy. Contemporary art should provide an immersive experience to people, which is what the comedians in the show will try to do with their sets,” elaborates Ayesha Parikh, the curator of the gallery.
Ankur Tangade
For Tangade, a Dalit, queer stand-up comic and the co-founder of Blue Material, an all Dalit line-up of stand-up comedians, the journey has been one of accidental discoveries. “Comedy happened to me by chance. I used to watch a lot of live comedy, open-mic events and felt that I can do this too. When I had just started performing comedy, I noticed how everybody in the room would be an upper caste person. For a long period of time I tried to follow the same pattern of comedy, in the hope of being relatable to the audience,” she recalls, adding how exploring her sexuality pushed her to talk about her own experiences. “It’s quite funny actually; I would make these jokes on stage as to why women are hitting on me, and if I am giving them queer vibes, and cut to now, where I openly talk about my pansexuality,” she explains. Travelling from her home in Beed to Mumbai this weekend, Tangade will explore the nuances of her identities and their interplay in the context of a small town to the metropolitan audiences of Mumbai — an idea that also informs the material of
Ritushree Panigrahi.
“My set is all about the experience of being a transwoman, in my personal as well as my corporate life,” Panigrahi shares. From finding humour in corporate spaces to talking about her gender identity, the HR professional’s journey from starting out with small gigs in Bhubaneswar to touring India and hosting many sets with this show is full of personal wins and sheer talent. “Though my family has been supportive of me, there is still a strong homomisic mindset that guides people’s prejudices. Hopefully, with awareness this will break” she explains, while also telling us about the AQA or Ask Queers Anything, a unique feature of the show where the comedians, armed with wit will answer questions related to the LGBTQiA+ community.
ON May 17; 7 pm to 8.30 pm
AT Art and Charlie, Pali Village, Bandra West.
LOG ON TO www.artandcharlie.com (for tickets)
COST Rs 350
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