Trevor Noah is a very well-known name in the English standup-comedy scene. He is also the host of The Daily Show where he delivers satirical news related to American and international political issues. So it was a very big deal when he announced that he would be doing standup-comedy shows in India – two of which were to take place in Bengaluru on the 27 and 28 September.
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However, Trevor Noah cancelled those shows last minute. The audience was seated at the venue when Trevor went up on stage and announced that he wouldn’t be doing the show. The reason was technical issues related to “bad acoustics”.
First, there was the excruciating Bengaluru traffic jam that people had to get through. Second, the venue – Manpho Convention Centre in Nagavara – was hot and stuffy, probably lacking proper ventilation. Third, the sound was just off. People just couldn’t hear, reported The Hindu.
He took to social media to post an apology note for the audience in Bengaluru:
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
However, on September 30, he performed in Mumbai and boy, did he roast the Bengaluru show!
He narrated to the audience what all happened leading up to the show. Indian Express quoted him saying:
“What happens is that there will be like an entrance you walk into. You emerge in a backstage area before you come and perform. Here, we walk through an alley that was full of dogs, half of which were in cages…. Some of those dogs are outside (while others are in). What have these dogs done? That’s what I want to know. I have never prepared for a show with a backstage area with dogs in cages.”
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He went on to add, “They tried to turn the sound up so that you can hear what is happening. But, because the room wasn’t designed for human beings, what happens is the sound waves are now just bouncing around the room in every direction.”
A user on X (formerly Twitter) named Aayushi Sachdeva who attended the Mumbai show shared a video of Trevor saying these statements. You can have a look here:
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
Clearly, the organizers of the show did a very poor job.