Masud’s new show ‘Masud Abides’ documents the immersion of a half English, half African international school graduate into Britain in 2017. He picks up on themes such as parents, being (sort of) black and heroics on board the British rail system.

In this show, Masud is a polished and calming comic who puts an audience at ease immediately. He invites the room to laugh along with him. His interaction with the crowd is friendly and encouraging as he introduces you to his world. His stage presence is gentile and genuine and there is a sense of grace to his show – even when he is talking about premonitions of racial fear.

The downside to this show is the lack of big laughs. Part of this can be attributed to the intimacy of the gig and the size of the room will always play a factor in a performance. Having said that, it still lacked big punchlines, gags and belly giggles. This is not necessarily a drawback to a show as comedy comes in many different forms, however as this was more of a storytelling session, some of the angles on the stories felt a little underdeveloped or under-identified. The takes on the themes are quite common place in comedy.

The show could have benefitted from being shorter. An hour is a long time to fill with comedy, and to Masud’s credit, he was very consistent. That said, more definite peaks and troughs in energy and laughter may have benefitted the overall performance.

☆☆