For Chennai-based comedian, Mervyn Rozz, the art of standup became the facilitator to learning new cultures, languages and how India, “has opened branches in all other parts of the world.” In his mere months-old set, On Arrival, the Tamil comedian chronicles his journey to different parts of the world, where he took his first solo show, Moving On. As he brings back the show to Bengaluru for the second time, we chat with Mervyn to learn how he transitioned between two live shows in a short duration, the connection that both share, his observation from his trips and more.
After a successful run of Moving On Tour, your first solo special, you brought On Arrival within a few months of ending that tour. How did that transition transpire?
It has been almost nine years since I’ve been doing comedy, since 2017. During these nine years, I’ve done various shows like line-up shows, sets based on cinema awards in the format of a mock cinema award show. Earlier, I used to improvise everything. Then came my first solo special — Moving On. I did that for almost 1.5 years. The idea for Moving On was that it was about my journey — how I started as a sales manager, then quit my job and became a stand-up comedian and how I’ve been doing it since then. I would end that show by quoting a bad experience in my life. Then, I will say, “no matter how bad our life is, we have to move on in life.” After Moving On, my next show is called On Arrival. This show is basically about what happens after I ‘moved on.’
And how does On Arrival encapsulate your comedy journey till the present?
This show mainly talks about my experience, from failed sales manager to becoming the first person in the family with a traditional job to enter stand-up comedy. In my sales job, to work and earn and to visit all these places would have taken years. But all the travel for me was possible within just one year and that’s because of stand-up comedy. On Arrival is all about my experience of how I got to travel to different countries and how I met different people.
Any specific observations from your trips that we can see you discuss during your Benglauru show?
Earlier, travelling to other countries, I used to feel that I would feel odd in these places. I would feel left out or even lost. But then I realised that everywhere I went, when I was around Indians or my friends or Chennai people, to be specific, I would feel like I was living in India. In fact, they are more connected to the country than us — right from their food to the content they consume to their habits and traditions. So, that itself is like a big shock for me.