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Brighton DomeRanganathan’s Hustle delivers laughs, but not the shock of the new. It is at its best when we glimpse something meaningful beneath the standard-issue curmudgeonliness‘I’ll be honest with you: I’m getting sick of me too.” His TV ubiquity now the stuff of other comedians’ – and his own – punchlines, how can Romesh Ranganathan justify another evening in his company? Tonight, he starts by flattering the locals: a native of nearby Crawley, he waxes nostalgic about cutting his standup teeth on the Brighton scene. But mostly he’s an everyman, not just a Sussex man, a midlife misanthrope withdrawing from hard work, self-improvement and the prospect of ever making any new friends. Forty five years is enough, Romesh is here to tell us: no additional effort will now be made.The authenticity of this pose we might question, not least given that slimline Ranganathan ran the London marathon last weekend. But he wears the world-weariness well, taking it now and then to droll extremes: see a set-piece about being forced to holiday in Portugal with – horror of horrors – another family. It’s not an unfamiliar pose for a middle-aged comic, mind you: his Hustle show delivers laughs, but not the shock of the new. It’s at its best when we glimpse something meaningful for Ranganathan beneath the standard-issue curmudgeonliness. He alludes to his sometimes brittle mental health. There’s a routine about envying the simple happiness David Beckham gets from frying mushrooms. He contrasts banal small talk with the antisocial screaming going on in his head. Continue reading...