Am I alienating people like me? And how does it feel? You can see people stretching. “I think that’s a valuable experience for people to have, to go, hold on a second. It’s a little awkward, sure, but it’s also rather beautiful to watch, she says. “You can hear it in the recordings - someone might tell a joke, and it might land and they’ll go, ohhhh yeah, you understand stereotyping don’t you, because you also experience it.” When the comic then appears “in front of people who are also from that culture, and you try it, that sh** doesn’t fly,” she says. And you might do that by making jokes about your culture doing something self-deprecating.” “When you perform to white people, as a performer of colour, you need to get them on your side you need to get them comfortable.

This means that when some comedians first come to FOC IT UP!, which has a much more diverse audience, “people who perform for like, middle-class white audiences all the time, when they come, it’s actually a bit awkward for them,” she says. “Everyone has to worry about, like, do I know my stuff? Is my stuff good? But one of the barriers I think you can face, especially as a performer of colour, or woman in front of a mainstream comedy audience, is - will they get me?” she explains. One is the question of whether the audience will even connect with their material. London comedy audiences are still predominantly white and middle-class, which creates particular hurdles for performers of colour. It’s also about creating a space to develop, for a more diverse group of performers. One of them said, ‘I was threatened when I saw another woman in comedy, because I was like, What am I going to talk about?’ So I’m glad to facilitate a space that encourages collaboration and togetherness.” They weren’t even allowed to be in the same lineup. “Shazia Mirza and Ria Lina, they’ve both been doing comedy for a while, and they were talking about back in the day, how they never really saw each other because they were never booked together. She and the podcast are all about exploring the joy of life, but also it’s important to her to look at “the challenges of this industry, where sometimes it’s set up to be competitive and not collaborative,” she says. New West End Company BRANDPOST | PAID CONTENT.

White person sketch show