Scottish comic Daniel Sloss reveals what he finds most funny about India and opens up on his eight-city Can't India Tour
Daniel Sloss is in India currently for his standup show Can’t. It was the comedian’s second visit to the country – following his participation in DeadAnt’s festival Laughing Dead – and the comedian had a lot to talk about. Prior to his Delhi show, Sloss and DeadAnt’s Founder & CEO Ravina Rawal spoke to DNA about the show and India’s standup scene.
Can’t, Sloss’ show, is about cancel culture and how it varies in different parts of the world. Talking about his show, the comedian says, “The show Can’t is about stand up comedy in the face of cancel culture, whether cancel culture does exist and to what degree. And if it does exist, where does it exist in different parts of the world? There are also a lot of jokes about fatherhood because I’m a dad now and I have nothing else to talk about.”
The comedian admits that he does his homework about a country’s culture and boundaries when it comes to humour before he performs there. “I love speaking to the local comedians about what it’s like to perform in India, and the boundaries to have in place. I have a lot of ignorance and preconceived ideas on what I think India is, has been, and should be, and I would like to have my opinions corrected and updated,” he says.
His previous visit to India was exactly 12 months ago, in March 2023, when he headlined Laughing Dead and performed in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi. Ask him the funniest thing about India and he promptly says, “We’re culturally very different—for instance, why do so many young Indian couples have dates on mopeds on the side of motorways? Are you all aware that this is insane?!”
Ravina Rawal, who heads DeadAnt, the company bringing Daniel to India, says his 8-city tour was planned after they were pleasantly surprised by his growing fanbase in India. “So he was here last year headlining our annual comedy festival Laughing Dead, and he also did a show each in Bengaluru and New Delhi. He sold out all three rooms in like 10 minutes flat, which was very exciting for everyone involved,” she says, adding, “It also fit perfectly with our new IP The DeadAnt Loop, which embodies DeadAnt Live's ambition to create space for laughter, provocative comedy, and cultural dialogue throughout India, that will resonate with both seasoned fans and the curious first-timer.”
Ravina says that standup comedy is seeing a resurgence in India in its most modern, international form now. She says, “Standup comedy has actually existed in India and been a huge part of our culture since at least Independence, in different forms. Humour and satire are at the heart of Hasya Kavi Sammelans in the Hindi speaking belt of northern India, for instance. In the 1980s, we saw the first versions of modern standup comedy with Johny Lever, and then 2005 brought in the TV boom. What we’re seeing now is perhaps comedy in its most tangible form: it’s one of the fastest growing entertainment options in India, there are live gigs every week, it’s being accepted as a viable career option for people from all kinds of backgrounds and age groups, we see dedicated venues cropping up all the time, and brands are looking at comedians to be the bridge for them to India’s youth.”
Daniel Sloss’ Can’t India Tour has seen him perform in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru starting March 15. He is set to take this tour further to Goa, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad, before the final show in Kolkata on March 24. Ticket bookings for the tour are now open on Insider.in, with limited availability.
The DNA App is now available for download on the Google Play Store. You can find the app here
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Daniel Sloss")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}