This show is much better than its venue might suggest. After a last minute scramble by Shyaire Ganglani and Daizy Maan to bring the show from Australia to Edinburgh, this is a pocket of proper laugh out loud funny comedy at the Hill Street Theatre.
Get ready for an hour of laughter and empowerment with Brown Women Comedy.
Featuring five incredible Indian and South Asian women comedians from Australia and the UK, this show offers sharp insights, honest observations, and plenty of well-crafted fun.
The title tells you exactly what the show is. The stand up comedians are all of Indian, Pakistani and South Asian heritage. It is a funny exploration of their culture with clashing traditional values and modern freedoms. The changing line up includes Urooj Ashfaq who won the Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2023, the well kent face of Edinburgh-based TV and radio presenter Zara Janjua (and how good is she with a very funny tale woven around her DNA test), ukulele playing Vidya Divakaran who is based in East London and had another zany show at PBH’s Free Fringe called Slug in a Club.
The stories are legend. To have had a mother like these women must be both a wonderful comforting envelope of love and intensely annoying all at the same time.
The expectations laid upon all of them by their families is clear and well-expressed – and the line up is fearlessly going against type literally by standing up. To come out to an Asian family appears ten times more difficult than any other ethnic group, but the life changer is turned into very funny comedy. This is a bunch of women who are already successful in their day jobs, and are now taking control of the comedy stage in their own way.
The besharam (shameless) line up changes each evening, and the stories are relatable for every audience member, no matter who they are. On Sunday the audience was certainly not exclusively “brown”.
Don’t miss out – add it to your Fringe agenda. #Fringe #Comedy #BrownWomenComedy
The show comes from Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Sydney Comedy Festival where more than 2,900 tickets were sold this year.
On until 25 August at 5.30pm. Tickets here.
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