Kiran Saggu brings debut show Slacks to Edinburgh Fringe

All her life Kiran Saggu has battled immigrant and capitalist pressure to succeed from her Desi-British-American background. Now she wonders, must she get her ass up and work? Or can she achieve being loved, adored, rich and fulfilled from the safety of a log position in her London flatshare bed?

In Slacks, Kiran asks big questions such as; ‘How can I live with the fact I didn't start a YouTube channel at 12 years old to make me a millionaire now?’, ‘When will men I date stop telling me they could do stand-up comedy?’, and ‘Can I sue the Daily Mail?’

So You Think You’re Funny semi-finalist Kiran Saggu says, “The truth is… I don’t really hate hard work. As the child of immigrants, I just had a hard time convincing myself that a career in the Arts counted as work. My dad loved painting as a kid. He told his parents he wanted to be an artist. He became an engineer.

Kiran Saggu in "Slacks"

“I think a lot of comics feel like they’re lazy, and as an Asian-American, we’re always in fear of not working hard enough. After 1st-generation immigration – what comes next? For me, it’s making people laugh. Just by doing this show, just by being a creative in the West, I’m chartering a completely new territory for my family. But somebody’s got to! Work can be anything – and we shouldn’t be afraid of doing it.

“I hope to inspire audiences to consider their own upbringings, their privilege, their ambitions, their place in and responsibility to society, then, to forget all that and just have a laugh about this world no matter which tiny bit of it we call home.”

Producer Martin Willis, Founder of Objectively Funny, says, “Kiran is such a fun presence onstage that we are putty in her hands as she zips through stories and silliness. She sparkles with charisma whether talking about her sprawling background or the intricacies of the everyday. It's a real joy to introduce her to new audiences this Fringe."

Kiran Saggu: Slacks plays throughout August at Edinburgh’s Underbelly Bristo Square (Clover) and is produced by Objectively Funny. Advance tickets (prices from £9) are available to book here.

Kiran Saggu Slacks poster

Kiran Saggu is an American-British comedian based in London. Born as a South Asian, minority in the suburbia of the U.S. to British-South Asian parents, she moved to London in her late teens and has been living with the gift and curse of endless cultural comparisons ever since.

Kiran is an American/British comedian based in London who identifies as a savage in a Megan Thee Stallion way, not in a Winston Thee Churchill way. Kiran is one of the creators and co-hosts of the buzzing monthly comedy night Slay24 with comedians Estefania Baha and Dominic McGovern.

Kiran decided to put the whimsical observations to use and started performing stand-up in late 2019, quickly hustling her way up. She placed as a semi-finalist in So You Think You’re Funny 2021, making her name for herself on the London circuit, performing on pro line-ups around the UK and also around Europe, the USA, and South Africa.

At Edinburgh Fringe 2022, Kiran performed a full run of the stand-up double-bill CAKE with Sarah Roberts. In 2023, she performed with Stamptown at Latitude Festival and opened for Jason Manford at Victorious Festival.

Slacks is Kiran Saggu’s debut Edinburgh Fringe hour.