Rahul Subramanian, Soho Theatre review - rush-hour traffic and upsetting DJs

Rahul Subramanian is a well-established comic in his native Mumbai, as evidenced by the appreciative audience of Indian expats gathered at Soho Theatre. His sellout dates in London acted as previews to his debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe, which starts on 2 August.

Subramanian is one of several South Asian comics Soho Theatre has introduced to London and Edinburgh comedy fans, and it's a mutually productive arrangement; last year, Urooj Ashfaq, another star of the Mumbai standup scene whom the theatre promoted in the UK, made her Fringe debut and walked away with the best newcomer gong at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Will Subramanian do the same?

He's a bouncy presence on stage, his constantly smiling demeanour acting as a foil for an occasional acid aside. He was just at the British Museum, he says, mystified because there's “nothing British in it”. But politics – sadly, I think, because that line delivers so much – play little part in what is mostly an hour of observational comedy.

He talks about the differences he has noticed between Mumbai and London – not least the relative meaning of “rush-hour traffic”, which brings knowing laughter from those who have experienced it in both cities.

The show is called Who Are You? and the comic fills us in on his biography. He's an engineer by training and competed an MBA, a traditional route to success for many middle-class Indians, but in his case, he winningly tells us, his advanced education was a way of putting off the point at which he would have to earn a living before achieving what he really wanted to do and become a comic.

Along the way he talks about doing corporate gigs, the Indian way of parenting and his experiences of working in a start-up.

At home, it's not just his comedy he's known for, Subramanian confides – but for having received violent threats for it. It sparks a strong section in the show in which he recounts the tale; it's difficult to credit, but a throwaway gag about DJs – yes DJs – offended some, meaning that he had to hire security guards for a while.

Occasional jokes don't land and the lengthy last set-piece of the set, which becomes increasingly shouty, strangely ends in a whimper rather than a bang. But he ends on a clever  callback that shows Subramanian knows how to construct a decent – if unchallenging – comedy hour.

• Rahul Subramanian is at the Edinburgh Fringe 31 July-25 August
• More comedy reviews on theartsdesk