Comedian Trevor Noah’s Bengaluru show on September 27 and 28 were cancelled due to poor acoustics at the venu. The cshow at Manpho Convention Centre near Manyata Tech Park in Nagavara was preceded by a massive traffic jam on the Outer Ring Road. The show, which was expected to begin at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, September 27, began nearly 30 minutes late, and came to an abrupt end after many audience members complained that they couldn’t hear the speakers. Noah himself was also stuck in traffic, reaching the venue nearly 20 minutes late. The comedian later announced that both Bengaluru shows at the venue scheduled for September 27 and 28 stood cancelled due to technical issues, while apologising to the audience members and promising a refund.
"Dear Bengaluru India, I was so looking forward to performing in your amazing city but due to technical issues we’ve been forced to cancel both shows. We tried everything but because the audience can’t hear the comedians on stage there’s literally no way to do a show. We’ll make sure all ticket holders receive a full refund and again I’m so sorry for both the inconvenience and disappointment this has never happened to us before," Trevor Noah said on the social media platform X.
Before leaving the stage minutes after his entry on stage, Noah said that he had expected the sound to be sorted. He said he had never had such an experience before, that he couldn’t continue the show under such circumstances, and that he would ensure everyone who bought tickets gets a refund.
However, minutes later, around 8.30 pm, the organisers announced that they were in the process of sorting things out. "Trevor will hopefully come back on stage,” they announced, much to the audience’s disappointment. The auditorium that has around 4000 seating capacity did not have proper parking arrangements and no elevated seating. Many people complained that they had to strain to even catch a glimpse of the stage.
The show is part of Trevor Noah’s Off The Record Tour in three Indian cities -- Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Unable to make it to the show on time, many ticket-holders were seen trying to sell their tickets on social media at the last minute.
Several audience members also highlighted that the event was poorly organised. The narrow approach road and lack of parking space made the experience difficult, a few ticket holders alleged. Many attendees also complained of lack of air conditioning at the crowded venue.
Earlier in the evening, a surge in traffic was reported in the Outer Ring Road, which is Bengaluru’s tech hub. Deputy Commissioner of Police-West (Traffic), Kuldeep Kumar R Jain, took to social media platform X to alert commuters about a huge traffic pile from Marathahalli to Sarjapura. “Please instruct ITBT companies located on ORR not to rush out as there is a massive jam due to an invariably high number of vehicles," DCP Kuldeep Kumar said.