Paul Sinha: 'Extreme Anti-White Vitriol'

Paul Sinha had a problem: through a combination of chance and error he ended up taking part in a radio discussion with Simon Darby, then the deputy leader of the BNP. Just when he thought it wasn’t going too badly Darby accused Sinha of “extreme anti-white vitriol”, from which this show takes its name. Sinha was, it is hardly an understatement, stunned.

From this starting point Extreme Anti-White Vitriol becomes an exploration not only of the issue of racism in Britain but of prejudices and bigotry in a wider sense.

If that sounds rather heavy then it is testament to Sinha’s skills that it never feels that way. He peppers his prejudice-bursting political comedy with anecdotal, confessional humour – of his ongoing quest for a boyfriend after being single since 1991, his rise to the dizzying heights of the National Quiz rankings, of the perils of appearing on Soccer AM. It’s an alluring mix of quick wit, self-depreciation and fierce intelligence.

Sinha is a man of precision (he would be the first to say pedantry) and in this, his fifth Edinburgh show, the pace of his material aptly demonstrates his tendencies. Not afraid to make an audience wait for a joke—or to pause for reflection—he builds the show with total confidence in his abilities.

There’s substance behind Sinha’s comedy and, in looking outward to the world rather than just inwards to himself, he has found the perfect space for his talents.