EDINBURGH 2025: Review: RAJIV KARIA: MAN ALIVE!, Pleasance Courtyard

Rajiv Karia’s Man Alive! is a thoughtful and sharply observed hour, which asks big questions with a light, playful touch. Karia discusses male friendships, unpacks issues around maintaining contact, discusses the merits of social connection and weaves this into the everyday irritations and anxieties of modern life. With a lens of warmth, wit, and self-deprecation, Karia skillfully keeps the audience laughing consistently.

Best known as the creator of BBC Three’s Zoners and with appearances on Comedy Central Live and One Person Found This Helpful, Karia brings a polished confidence to the stage, without ever feeling over-rehearsed. His delivery is conversational, drawing the crowd in as though they’ve stumbled into an ongoing chat with a friend working through their place in life, exploring the expectations family impose and self imposed requirements. 

Themes of city life, changes in relationships, raw authenticity and race thread through the set buoyantly. With a knack for pivoting between the relatable minutiae of everyday existence and broader reflections, on what it means to be truthful he excels. Karia is particularly skilled at setting up moments, which seem to be drifting into earnestness, only to undercut them with a perfectly timed comical aside.

The show’s pace is unhurried, never slack, but could be tightened in terms of timing. However, Karia's style gives his stories time to breathe and sets them up for big laughs. The hour feels cohesive yet spontaneous, astute and observant, without tipping into sentimentality.

Man Alive! offers an engaging, cleverly crafted reminder to enjoy the call of life’s unexpected turns. A welcome hour at the Fringe, where comedy can often be frantic and overwrought, Karia’s balance of charm, intelligence, and genuine connection feels refreshing.

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