No longer on the fringes of comedy

IMRAN YUSUF EXPLAINS WHY HE IS EXCITED ABOUT BEING BACK AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL WITH HIS NEW SHOW

THERE will be loads of entertainment on offer at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month and one of the hottest tickets will be for Imran Yusuf’s new show Saint Sinner Sufi.

The acclaimed comedian returns to the largest arts festival in the world and a city where he has previously found so much success after four years with a self-reflecting stand-up show that promises plenty of laughs.

This is the latest chapter for the British funny man, who has enjoyed great success with his high-energy stage presence and on television.

Eastern Eye caught up with Imran to talk about comedy, his new show, the close connection he has to Edinburgh, whether he is actually a saint, sinner or Sufi, and more.

What first connected you to comedy?

Probably the Benny Hill Show when I was a kid. I still have, to this day, a VHS copy of the film Jaws and at the end of it, the Benny Hill Show as a way to placate me when I was a kid, so my mum could do housework without any interruptions.

Do you remember your first stand-up gig?

Yes. It was for Jeff Mirza, who put on an Asian com­edy night at the Harrow Arts Centre in 2000. I went to watch and waited for him afterwards to ask him for advice on how to get started. He invited me to come along the following month and told me that he would give me five minutes.

So I went back the following month, only having told one of my best friends about it. He came to support and it went really well, mostly because I had a naive cheeky energy about me, and less due to the quality of the material.

What has been your most memorable moment as a comedian?

There are many memorable moments, although one of my favourites was when I was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. I didn’t even know what it meant and that whole month was an exciting experience of being acknowledged and celebrated after being turned down and ignored almost everywhere else.

That must have felt great.

It felt like I was in a movie in which the main char­acter finally accomplishes his transformation. Dur­ing the same time, my favourite animé, Naruto Shippuden, was about the main character return­ing to his village to defeat the bad guys who had come to destroy it and he was able to vanquish them because he had transformed. A friend of mine texted me to describe what was happening in Naruto, and it was kinda what was happening to me. As memorable as that was, little did I know that it was a peak before another trough. Such is life and when you figure that out, life becomes an exciting journey to navigate.

Tell us about your relationship with the Edin­burgh festival?

I didn’t even know what it was. The first time someone asked me if I was going to Edinburgh, I was like, ‘why, is there a gig up there?’.

My first time in Edinburgh was for 24 hours in the SYTYF (So You Think You’re Funny?) semi-fi­nal in 2004, but my first proper run was in 2008 with now-author Andrew Wallace and comic Julian Deane in a show we called The Free Three.

I racked up 72 gigs in that month, 81 at the festi­val in 2009 and 101 there the following year. I’ve learned to see the Edinburgh festival not as a trade show, but as a gym, because that way the comic al­ways wins. The worst thing that will really happen to any hard-working comic in Edinburgh is that you’ll come out of it a better comic.

What do you like about Edinburgh as a city?

The friendliness of the local people, the history, ar­chitecture and sense of purpose it seemingly culti­vates. My aunt studied to be a nurse in Edinburgh in the 1970s and her photograph can be seen in a very old, out-of-print textbook for midwives in the National Library of Scotland.

How does it feel to be returning there after a gap of four years?

I’m better prepared for the whole experience after doing so many festivals now. It’s easy to get caught up in the bubble and be so self absorbed that it can really eat you. I’m up there to do my best, develop as a comic, eat healthily and keep good company around me.

Tell us about your latest show Saint Sinner Sufi?

My latest show is a more introspective look at my life experience and who I have become as an adult and as a comic. I’ve developed a career providing witty rebuttals to all the prejudice that my commu­nity faces, but it seems that now, that’s all it’s be­come. It’s easy for me to point the finger at racists, bigots, Israe­li apartheid and general western foreign policy, but it’s harder to own my faults and take more re­sponsibility for my contribution to the world as a representative of the community I belong to.

Who are you hoping will connect with the show?

I think older people will appreciate it. This show has come about after my being 13 years or so into comedy. At the age of 38, I started to see the pat­terns of behaviour in different kinds of people, in­cluding myself. I believe this comes with life expe­rience, maturity and when you can accept how wrong our preconceptions of others are.

Are you yourself a saint, sinner or a Sufi?

I am forever an ardent student of the great mystery, which we inhabit.

What are the most sinful and saintly things you have done, which you are happy to reveal?

I’ve lied, cheated, stolen and hurt others out of the smallness of being, no excuses. I have also helped, encouraged and supported others out of higher magnitude of being.

Where do you draw your inspirations from?

Life experiences. Life happens and later my brain comes up with the material, which I then hone on the circuit. Also, I read and write religiously every single day, which helps cultivate the mastery of language in articulating ideas.

When do you know when a joke will work? Is it when it is on paper or when you are on stage?

Sometimes I know when it pops into my head, but often enough the stage is the crucible of all materi­al. Sometimes it works immediately, sometimes it takes some faith to develop it in front of audiences who don’t get it, but ultimately it becomes a great piece of material.

Who is your comedy hero?

I used to have a few, especially Chris Rock, but now I’ve stopped looking up to other comics. I ap­preciate them, but none of them have that hero-like status in my eyes any more. Maybe because I’ve grown up and have been in this game so long that I see the components of why human beings react with awe around celebrities.

However, saying that, I admire the old guard on The Cutting Edge team at the Comedy Store and lately, Jeremy Hardy.

What don’t you find funny?

Racism utilising the cover of ‘freedom of speech’ and then acting like a victim when it is opposed.

Are you under pressure to be funny in real life?

People often expect a comic to perform at the drop of a hat if they see you. On stage we are relative ce­lebrities, but when we are in the supermarket buy­ing avocados, we’re civilians like everyone else.

Has being funny helped you in everyday life?

Sometimes I can’t help making myself the centre of attention when I’m around less sociable or confident people. At work, I was often the funny guy which some colleagues used until I overdid it. There are only so many mini-post-it notes-under-the-mouse pranks you can do in an office before you get dragged into HR for a disciplinary.

What about with the ladies?

Only when it comes about natural­ly. You can’t walk up to a woman you fancy and start doing material like it’s a performance. I learnt quickly not to carry a microphone around with me on dates.

What is the best professional advice you ever got?

To have fun. Ian Stone told me this many years ago and I thought he was just trying to get rid of me, but years later I got it. If you’re having fun, they (the audience) are having fun too.

What do you think is the secret of good comedy?

What I just said. Furthermore, invest in developing your mastery of the language. Read and write every day. If it’s too hard or you’re not bothered, then you don’t really care about being a comic.

Why do you love comedy?

Comedy is a powerful vocation for self-expression, utilising language to articulate satire into the minds of others. Comedy has been a great conduit for me to help humanise myself and my communi­ty while learning about others, who I would other­wise have also judged. I’ve met and hung out with people I would have otherwise never known and have got to travel to so many countries that I would not have got round to seeing with such intimacy and frequency.

Finally, why should we come and watch your new show?

Because great art changes the way we see the world and how we experience our lives. There are jokes aplenty in this show and also deeply truthful stories about much of what we all try to deny in ourselves. If you like jokes and ideas that really make you think, then you’ll enjoy this show.

Imran Yusuf’s new show Saint Sinnner Sufi is be­ing staged at Studio – The Stand’s New Town Thea­tre, Freemason’s Hall, 96 George St, Edinburgh EH2 3DH, from August 2 until August 26. Visit www.the­stand.co.uk and www.imranyusuf.com for details.