Prashasti Singh
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Prashasti Singh is returning to the Soho Theatre Festival with her show Divine Feminine, only this time, it will be an English iteration. “There are a lot of us, everywhere. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if I’m in London, Australia or Amsterdam, I could just perform the way I do in India,” laughs Prashasti.
“Even those who attend the show with their friends or partners have all the context they need for a show like mine,” adds the Mumbai-based comic.
Prashasti, who debuted as a stand up eight years ago, presented her first show Dhoor Khadi Sharmayee in 2022, which was followed by Man of the House. She opened Divine Feminine in London last year, albeit in Hindi.
“My comedy is predominantly in Hindi, but at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, I rewrote the show in English because I wanted to perform for a global audience.”
Prashasti explains it is the reason many stand-up comedians attend shows like the Edinburgh Fringe. “We take it up as a challenge; for close to a month people from all over the world including Asia, Europe and South America, are showcasing their talent and it is a chance to catch an artiste you may never have heard of before. In such an environment you have to adapt; you can’t stick to the scripted ideas you registered with.”
“Besides, my brain works differently in Hindi and English — the nature of humour differs,” she says, adding how issues such as AQI need context before foreign audiences relate to a joke. “On a positive note, this context setting becomes a fertile ground for more jokes. And if I’m talking about Amitabh or Shah Rukh, I have to explain they are like Tom Cruise or George Clooney in our world.”
Prashasti Singh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Aha moment
Talking about the inspiration behind Divine Feminine, Prashasti says it stems from the angst of most modern women. “I suppose like most modern women, my dream was to live life the way a man does; I saw my parents’ life and my dad’s lot certainly seemed better. Then at some point, a lot of us actually achieve that dream — we start bringing in good money and with that comes the freedom a lot of men enjoy.”
“And then you realise, it is not a happy place to be. In order to work with them and be powerful like them, we also become as miserable as them. And in the process, we’ve also discarded all the nice things about being women.”
“We’ve lost our feminine essence, run a higher risk of heart attacks and deal with the realisation we’ve been scammed. Plus, the world tells us we’re crazy. The humor in this show comes from this frustration that you can’t enjoy your dream which has come true.”
Travelling for work has given Prashasti an exposure to “modern women’s angst”. “I do understand the struggles of a woman in urban India are quite different from someone working in London’s corporate world. Patriarchy is everywhere, but the lived experiences differ, and while some aspects are universal, a lot is region specific.”
Prashasti says Divine Feminine debuted in Bengaluru, and even though she’s already had a couple of shows here, she will be bringing it back early next year.
“A lot of people miss a show, which is why most comics have multiple runs of the same performance. Besides, most of us who do stand up, love Bengaluru as a territory because it has the best combination of audiences. You can find every demographic at every show.”
Updates on Divine Feminine and Prashasti Singh’s shows available on social media
Published – December 09, 2025 04:40 pm IST
