BENGALURU: Few people can claim to have done what standup comic, writer and podcast host Navin Noronha did. Born and raised in suburban Mumbai in a conservative Roman Catholic family, he came out as queer at an open mic in 2014 to a room full of strangers. Unlike most comics, Noronha encourages audience questions and responds to them during his performances. Noronha wants to mainstream queer people, dispel myths and stereotypes and engage in an honest dialogue with the public at large to raise awareness around the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Average Adult is a philosophical sequel to my first show, The Good Child. It’s about growing up and talking about something that I haven’t gotten a chance to talk about before.It’s a mature show,” begins Noronha.
Noronha’s first-ever open mic was in July of 2014 prior to which he was a professional emcee right out of school. “Getting on stage was not the scary part, making people laugh was. I came out of the closet publicly at my first open mic event and since then I’ve never looked back. I found my voice and an assurance that there is a community out there that accepts me for who I am,” avers Noronha.
While speaking about his journey of coming out, he says almost all of his friends have been supportive. “It’s because they knew me for me and anything else apart from that is an addition to my identity that I proudly own. There were some bullies in my college, but you get them with logic. Everyone’s got their own thing. I am not out to change people’s beliefs. I am out to appeal to their saner side,” he adds.
For Noronha, getting on stage and doing comedy, be it for five people or for 500 people, is a therapeutic experience. “I never wanted to be a comedian. I wanted to be famous and doing standup just seemed to suit me. I do not try to be different from anybody. There is only one me and nobody can do me,” the comedian says.
“I have been doing this for a while now. So, eventually, I put all my material together and started doing a bunch of trial shows. After all the trial shows, I am finally doing this tour of Average Adult,” Noronha says. “Bengaluru has always given me the best audience. I actually wanted to record my solo here. The city has a keen sense of comedy and people turn up for the comedy, not the comedian, which is refreshing,” he concludes.
Tickets are priced at Rs 299 for the show taking place on September 23, 9.30 pm at Comedy Garage, Whitefield