It took US TV show host and comedian Trevor Noah mere days to come up with content based on his experience in Bengaluru, where he was forced to cancel his gig on Wednesday, 27 September.
On Saturday, he was in Mumbai — the third and last Indian destination in his “Off the Record” tour — when he unleashed his comedic talents on the arrangements, venue, and other details of the Bengaluru show.
Noah was supposed to perform on Wednesday and Thursday in Bengaluru. However, he brought the curtains down on both shows on the first day itself, citing technical glitches at the Manpho Convention Centre in the Nagavara area of the city.
A massive traffic snarl in Bengaluru that day only complicated matters, with many unable to reach the venue, resulting in empty seats.
But Noah managed to take it all in his stride during his Mumbai gigs, choosing to see the humour in something for which he had apologised on X (formerly Twitter).
Mumbai! Thank you for such an incredible first night! The energy inside the NSCI Dome was next level!! Excited we get to do it all over again tomorrow night! 🙌🏾🇮🇳 #OffTheRecordWorldTour 📸: @mattynoir pic.twitter.com/z5xE6cloZb
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 30, 2023
Also read: Trevor Noah cancels both shows in Bengaluru
Mumbai regaled
On Saturday, during the first of his three scheduled shows in Mumbai, Noah regaled the audience with his description of the venue.
He talked of how other venues have a specific layout, but this was different, because first there was an alley full of dogs.
He said some of the dogs were in cages, and barking. However, he said, he was more afraid of the ones roaming outside. “I have never prepared for a show where the backstage area is dogs in cages,” he said.
Then, he was led into something about which he said to laughter that soon turned nervous: “I guess it was a building. Some of the structure, I guess, fulfilled the rules of what we call a building. Technically.”
What’s worse is he called the room a “semi-permanent tent” with “giant air-conditioning units” on the side, but “they were blowing” hot air.
He also joked about the acoustics of the venue — something many had cited as one of the chief reasons the Bengaluru show was cancelled.
What a show! What a show @trevornoah Best part was getting all the first hand gosss about the #bengaluru show and what a shit show it was on a whole new level. I’m sorry nobody told you how bad that venue was and how rainy it gets during this time 🤣 @bookmyshow pic.twitter.com/5MI9eHVdCZ
— Aayushi Sachdeva (@aayushi_s) September 30, 2023
Also read: Lessons from the Trevor Noah and AR Rahman shows
The Bengaluru incident
Attendees of the event at the Manpho Convention Centre in the Nagavara area of Bengaluru said on social media that Noah did start his set, albeit late, and did not continue for too long.
Then, a little before 9 pm on Wednesday, Noah took to X (formerly Twitter) and declared: “Dear Bengalaru India, I was so looking forward to performing in your amazing city but due to technical issues we’ve been forced to cancel both shows. [sic]”
He added: “We tried everything but because the audience can’t hear the comedians on stage there’s literally no way to do a show.”
Noah, who hosted the acclaimed The Daily Show on US television for nearly a decade, also said: “We’ll make sure all ticket holders receive a full refund and again I’m so sorry for both the inconvenience and disappointment this has never happened to us before.”
Dear Bengalaru India, I was so looking forward to performing in your amazing city but due to technical issues we’ve been forced to cancel both shows.
We tried everything but because the audience can’t hear the comedians on stage there’s literally no way to do a show. We’ll make…— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 27, 2023
From delays on the road to “technical difficulties”, as Noah put them, his performance was affected for a number of reasons.
One reason turned out to be the infamous Bengaluru traffic, which many complained was number to bumper on the Outer Ring Road ORR.
Some attendees at the venue said that there was a problem with the sound, with a section of the audience unable to hear either Noah or the comedian who opened for him.
There were also complaints that there was no parking at the venue. As one person pointed out: Anyone buying a ticket for ₹12,000 was not going to use public transport to arrive at the venue.
