There is only one acid test for comedians when it comes to a routine they have penned — performing it in front of an audience. They might consider the jokes laugh-out-loud funny when they rehearse it alone, only to be met with yawns at a venue. That’s why trial shows are of supreme importance, feels Azeem Banatwalla. The stand-up comedian will perform one of his own tomorrow at a Bandra venue. It’s titled Life’s Mid Crisis, and is 50 minutes long. 

“I have it prepared, but I don’t know if it’s going to be funny,” he tells us, adding, “There are two ways of approaching [trial shows]. One is to try out five-minute bits, and then build upon that. But for me, it’s a bit different as I do more thematic shows. So, I try to do it an hour at a time.”