Press

Daily Record Review

08 October 2010

Shazia's style wins plenty of praise
Shazia Mirza The Stand Comedy Club Edinburgh October 5 2010
4 stars ****

Not long after the events of September 11, Shazia Mirza started her comedy career.

Back then, the British- born Muslim woman would open her gigs by saying "My name is Shazia Mirza. At least that what it says on my pilot's licence."

 

It was a great, shocking line that grabbed the attention of the audience and won the rookie comic a lot of headlines.

 

The problem was that back in the early years of the new millennium, that one liner was Shazia's strongest gag and the rest of her early sets would seem disappointing in comparison.

 

Switch to the present day and her set is packed with punchy gags that have the audiene gasping.

 

Most of her material comes from her own life and Shazia mocks her own background with a directness that most of her fellow comics would not dare go near. She tells us that her mother is desperate for her to get married but there is a problem. "Asian men don't want to marry me," says Shazia, pausing just long enough before adding, "because I speak."

 

Instead, she is dating an Irish atheist, which leads her to ponder the similarities between the Irish and her roots in Pakistan.

 

I won't spell out the punchline but lets just say that explosions are of the things Shazia reckons that two cultures have a shared fascination for.

 

In other hands, it could be offensive to some but part of Shazia's set explores what is offensive and what isn't.

 

This was a cracking performance from a comic who can make an audience think as well as laugh.

 

Jonathan Trew