Romesh Ranganathan's Mother Delivers Brutal Verdict on His West End Debut
Comedian and presenter Romesh Ranganathan, 47, has opened up about his mother's brutally honest response to his West End theatre debut, alongside the nerve-wracking experience of acting opposite Sheridan Smith. The performer discussed these revelations during an appearance on this Saturday's edition of The Jonathan Ross Show, where he was joined by fellow guests Roisin Conaty, Joe Marler, Aisling Bea, and Jalen Ngonda.
Stage Acting Intimidation and Family Confusion
In one of his latest projects, Ranganathan starred in the West End play Woman in Mind, portraying a doctor. He described the experience as quite nerve-wracking, particularly due to the presence of Sheridan Smith. Sheridan is one of the reasons I wanted to do the play; getting to act opposite someone who is one of our greats, he explained. It's quite intimidating. I've done a bit of TV acting, but stage acting is such a different discipline… you've got to have the audience in the conversation, play out to the theatre… all things I'd never done before.
Ranganathan added that many people, including his mother Shanthi, did not understand why he was undertaking a play. People don't understand why I was doing a play; they thought it was crazy that I was doing a play, he said. Recounting a conversation with his mother, he shared: My mum said, 'What's your character?' I said I was playing a doctor. She said: 'But you don't have any training?' I said: 'It's scripted.' She said: 'What happens if you go to treat somebody?' I was saying: 'It's a play!'
Audience Misunderstandings and Maternal Criticism
The comedian also admitted that even the audience sometimes failed to grasp the theatrical context. The opening bit of the play, I'm struggling to open my briefcase, Sheridan's on the floor… one of the nights, I'm struggling to open it - as part of the play - and someone goes, 'Go on Romesh, you can do it.'
Speaking about his mother's review, Ranganathan revealed: She was impressed enough by the acting. She had two bits of negative feedback: 'First of all,' she said, 'I thought your acting was good, I thought you looked horrible.' He continued: There's a bit in the play where my character declares his love for Sheridan's character and my mum said, 'I thought, to be honest, it was a little bit creepy.' So she wasn't that happy with that. I had to explain to her that that was scripted [too].
Awkward Kissing Scenes and Upcoming Tour Plans
Elsewhere in the interview, Ranganathan and fellow guest Aisling Bea discussed acting together, including filming a kissing scene for the show Avoidance. Ranganathan noted: Aisling's been very public… [she] played my love interest in Avoidance. She was great in the role. I've seen a number of interviews, where she said about how awkward it was… Bea responded: Did you not find it weird that we had to kiss each other after knowing each other [for so many years]? Ranganathan jokingly added: But no, it is awkward. We're really good friends… that helped with the chemistry, getting on, but you get to the point where you have to do something like that… it's horrible. Bea elaborated: If you look at each other at the wrong time… and there's a camera crew looking at you… it's just very silly! I felt like I was doing bad kissing. [I was thinking] 'He's going to tell James Acaster and all the boys I kiss badly…'
Ranganathan also discussed his upcoming Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Life tour. He said: Whenever you start to write a stand up show it's wherever your mentality is. This time I've started to really get into thinking about contentment and happiness. I read The Courage To Be Disliked and I found that inspiring, and thought maybe I could start writing stand up that has a bit of an outlook on life. He added: I've literally just started writing it. I come up with a routine, I never write any of it down, I find it on stage, take what works, keep that in… it gradually builds and builds… [then you] have a time when you panic and phone your agent, [you're saying] 'I need to pull the tour', then suddenly it comes together.
Competition on Last One Laughing and Comedy's Narcissism
Meanwhile, Ranganathan discussed taking part in Last One Laughing, a show where comedians compete to make each other laugh, with Roisin Conaty appearing as host Jimmy Carr's 'Deputy'. He identified Alan Carr as his biggest competition: Alan Carr's a tricky guy because he's sort of, easily 'takedownable', but he's also a dangerous weapon. Early on I thought, 'I'm going to try and take him out.' The problem is, everything he does is funny. He's lab designed to be funny that guy. Did not want to see Bob Mortimer back. I like Bob Mortimer, but not in that house.
Reflecting on the nature of comedy, Ranganathan concluded: Comedy is the most narcissistic form of entertainment ever. We require the audience to laugh at us to boost our self-esteem… it's a blow torch to your self-esteem. The Jonathan Ross Show airs Saturdays on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
