The immigrant struggle made him angry. Now comedian Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa is wondering what comes next

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Being a Sri Lankan while living in the U.K.has shaped the comedic perspective of Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa.“But only really because that is my situation,” he said.His experience as an immigrant living in a Western country felt like he was under constant scrutiny and surveillance, to the point that it affected his personality and his stand-up.Everything changed last September when he got a permanent resident card.“I can feel myself slowly unclenching,” Rajapaksa said.With his residency not being linked to a job, Rajapaksa felt like he could “f— up.” There’s no longer a weight on his shoulders.

There was a sense of freedom that overtook some of his angry feelings.“I still carry all of the grumpiness from being from the old country as well.I am still technically an immigrant, but I will not be under the same pressures that I have been prior,” Rajapaksa said.

“I’m curious how that will affect [my new special].”Rajapaksa will be working through that transition at Dynasty Typewriter on Friday and Saturday, where the audience can see him entering a new stage of his life.His act has long captured his immigrant experience.Now, he’s going to be applying for British citizenship, a change that could alter his comedic perspective.

What happens to a comedian’s work when he stops “chasing the dragon” of an immigrant struggle that caused him so much anger and pressure?Before comedy, his rage would make its way past his calm and quiet qualities and express itself through his argumentative personality.That sort of emotional expression now has a place to live, Rajapaksa said.If something makes him feel a certain way, rather than getting in an argument with someone, which is tiring, he goes home, talks to himself “like a weirdo” and creates a bit out of it.

Comedy gives him permission, given that he holds up his end of the deal of being entertaining.“It’s very cliché,...