‘It’s a zeitgeist-capturer’: climate crisis and trans rights are talk of Edinburgh festival

Walkout by authors over fossil fuel links plus controversies about identity, racism and sexism are hot topics at politically charged eventWhen Jessica Gaitán Johannesson led a mass walkout at an Edinburgh book festival event last weekend, she told the …

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I’m a comedian and banter is my job – this is the truth about racist jokes | Shazia Mirza

The Yorkshire cricket race row shows people are still claiming that abuse is just acceptable joshing. It isn’t“I like your handbag!” I say.“It was only a pound, from the pound shop,” she says.Shazia Mirza is a comedian. Her latest show, Coconut, is on …

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I’m a comedian and banter is my job – this is the truth about racist jokes | Shazia Mirza

The Yorkshire cricket race row shows people are still claiming that abuse is just acceptable joshing. It isn’t“I like your handbag!” I say.“It was only a pound, from the pound shop,” she says.Shazia Mirza is a comedian. Her latest show, Coconut, is on …

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Middle Eastern stand-ups: ‘People assume we only do terrorist jokes’

Tired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity – where gags about body hair and Farsi aboundEvery comedian expects rejection when they’re starting out. But an email mix-up convinced Jenan Younis that he…

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Middle Eastern stand-ups: ‘People assume we only do terrorist jokes’

Tired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity – where gags about body hair and Farsi aboundEvery comedian expects rejection when they’re starting out. But an email mix-up convinced Jenan Younis that he…

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All white on the night: the perennial problem with TV panel shows

The format should give comic talents a time to shine. So why don’t our flagship shows reflect the diversity of comedy in 2021?Panel shows have been a pillar of British comedy for decades. The News Quiz began in 1977 and Have I Got News for You in 1990,…

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‘This room’s not ready for me’: improv as a BAME comic

I’ve worked as the only person of colour on improv nights for years and found problems – and potential. Now diverse groups are finding laughs a more inclusive wayIn improv, when one comic decides another performer’s scene has run its course, they dart …

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Fringe of Colour Films: ‘the diversity checklist is discarded first in a crisis’

Created to provide paid work and connect people of colour with audiences during Covid, a new online arts festival aims to be around for the long-term‘You can’t just keep pulling up chairs,” says a character in Joshua Harmon’s play Admissions. “There is…

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Gina Yashere meets London Hughes: ‘America is super-racist but the glass ceiling is higher!’

In our series pairing veteran black artists with younger talents for a frank chat about their experiences, comedians Gina Yashere and London Hughes reveal why they both felt the need to quit Britain for the USBorn and raised in London, Gina Yashere, 46…

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Watch Neal Brennan educate white people with videos about race

For the last few days it’s been pretty inspiring to see the comedy community rally around the calls for social… MORE
Watch Neal Brennan educate white people with videos about race appeared first on The Laugh Button.

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