Roll into your 30s laughing with comedian Olga Koch as she performs in Mumbai

Comedian Olga Koch returns to Mumbai for the India premiere of her new set, Prawn Cocktail that dives into the journey of living through the fear and fun of turning 30

Remember that precise moment when you woke up and discovered that from now, dates need to mean more, a job is necessary, and that you need to count your beers to avoid a hangover? For this writer, like many, it arrived when he turned 30. So, when Olga Koch speaks about the said panic, we can only nod in agreement.

The comedian is in town to perform the premiere of her set, Prawn Cocktail, tonight and tomorrow at a venue in Khar. This is Koch’s second tour of India after she spent 10 days in the city touring in April last year. This time though, the 31-year old returns armed with personal experiences after turning 30 in September.

“I really did not intend to write a show so soon. But that’s how the best ones happen,” the Russian-British comic said. The inspiration arrived when she visited a wedding in New Zealand, met someone, and then decided to make a trip to Japan on a whim last year. “We all have had that moment of panic [on turning 30] or the feeling that a stranger from across the room is the love-of-my-life,” she laughs. The show encapsulates the sometimes crazy, emotional and personal moments of her journey.

Koch performs at Edinburgh in 2022. Pic Courtesy/Kat Gollock

Why is it that we all dread the milestone? She has a theory too. “You are older at 28 than at 30. At 28, you are so filled with panic for your life ahead. We all think that, somehow, we will turn into this responsible person when the clock strikes midnight, but we are still the same dumbasses,” she remarks. The title of the show comes from her first tattoo she got after going past the age last year. “This is my first tattoo, and I chose a prawn. I was crying because I was so afraid of showing it to my mom, who didn’t really care,” she laughs.

These personal accidents, she says, often become universal experiences. Do these experiences change her, we ask. “It is a lesson you learn in comedy. In order to become good at stand-up comedy, you have to be bad at it first. We are so bad at being bad at things as adults, unlike children. As adults, we are told to use buzz words, look it up on Google, pretend that we know what we are talking about,” she points out.

That trick does not work on the stage. “With comedy, every new set-up is a punch in the face. I just finished a work in progress material before I left for India, and I was constantly panicking about the reaction,” she reveals. Quite like her first India tour last year that was preceded by hours of meetings to get things right. “I was sweating my clothes off, and the Mumbai heat did not help,” she laughs. Tell her that the weather is cooler this time round, and she quips, “It is not! People keep saying that. This is beach weather.”

This time around, Koch is performing in Mumbai and Bengaluru. She has already been on a food binge across town. “On Wednesday, we did pani puri, some Goan food and chai on the street. I plan to visit Ling’s Pavilion for some Indo-Chinese cuisine, and also a few Irani cafés,” she adds. But the true challenge is to find the best vada pav. “I have had three or four suggestions, each of them, people claim is the best. I am going to taste all of them and make the decision,” she laughs. As for Bengaluru, Koch plans to visit a theme park. “I am still trying to convince my team about that.” Why a theme park, we wonder. “Why not? How old can you be that you do not want to go on rides?” she asks. We shall plead the fifth on that one. 
 
On: Today, 9 pm; January 20, 8 pm
At: Above The Habitat:Mumbai, 3rd Road, Khar West.
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 499 onwards

Also in town

British presenter and comedian Jimmy Carr brings his deadpan delivery and sharp one-liners for the India debut of his tour, Terribly Funny
On: January 20; 9.30 pm
At: Mahakavi Kalidas Natyamandir, Purushottam Kheraj Road, Mulund West.
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 799

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