Jenan Younis – A laugh a day keeps the doc away

Mariana Feijó

Mariana Feijó

Jenan Younis was a regional finalists in the 2017 Funny Women Awards. We caught up with her on the run up to A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doc Away, a comedy event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the NHS. Jenan is a doctor herself and we’re curious to see if we should take the show’s title literally and fear for the security of her day job.

Mariana Feijó: You’ve been a finalist for the 99 comedy club bursary and finalist for the South East comedian of the year. Has something changed for you or are you keeping things real and staying true to the ‘slap in the face’ description your comedy has earned before?

Jenan Younis: Isn’t humility lesson one in comedy? I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of an audience inspired “slap in the face” on many an occasion… so yup, ain’t no other option but #keepingthingsreal…

MF: You’ve performed as part of Arabs Are Not Funny! and both performed in and ran charity-themed, Middle Eastern comedy night Weapons of Mass Hilarity (WMH). Do you think these nights are important to increase representation of Middle Eastern talent in the industry? What else do you think could be done?

JY: WMH was a charity night I ran with LSE and SOAS. It was loosely billed as Middle Eastern themed but the definition of what fell under that umbrella of Middle Eastern was very broad! The Middle East is an incredibly diverse part of the world with many more ethnicities and religions than are appreciated – I myself am Assyrian, so a minority within a minority group that most people know nothing about – so it was really important to us to have an inclusive and wide range of acts with as many different backgrounds as possible. Themed nights in comedy are always fantastic fun and I love being part of POC line ups, but they don’t compensate for the lack of diversity you see in the mainstream. Pluck a random comedy night in London and the odds are it will be predominately white and predominately male. Often the crowds we attracted to nights like WMH were a self-select group; i.e. we were preaching to the converted; there’s still a really long way to go in levelling out the playing field in the big wide comedy world and exposing the average audience goer to the wealth of women and diversity that’s out there.

MF: There’s been a lot of talk about the sexist behaviours experienced by women in the stand-up comedy scene at the hands of misogynistic promoters and punters. What has your own experience been like?

JY: Given the scale of the issue my experiences have been on the mild end of the spectrum but there have certainly been moments where I’ve definitely been made to feel uncomfortable. One charity night I was involved with recently saw me witness an audience member hurtling sexist abuse at a brilliantly talented woman on stage. Despite being a repeat offender throughout the night, the manager of the venue refused to intervene or ask the audience member to leave. The manager’s excuse was “it’s bad for business” and to add insult to injury the MC was warned not to “back chat” to the “paying customer”.

We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg with the conversations that are now ongoing within the world of comedy that are sadly equally applicable to women in so many spheres and industries. Things are beginning to change and seeing initiatives such as 50:50 are starting points.

MF: Do you have any advice for young female comedians starting out in the industry on how to tackle the issue?

JY: I have certainly been guilty of putting up and shutting up on many an occasion, and questioned why I even bothered pursuing comedy. I would have certainly benefited from a pep talk along the way, but I’m learning to pay no attention to the negativity that I may face on the circuit, and I certainly will call something out if it’s not right. There are opportunities I’ve lost out on because I was told I was “too ethnic” or “not the right kind of ethnic” or “an ethnic female” and as a result am learning to create my own opportunities through the comedy world.

MF: You are organising and performing in A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doc Away, a comedy event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS, which will also be a fundraiser for the charity Young Minds. Could you tell us a bit more about it?

JY: Yes! I am co-producing it with Kassandra Gordon who is co-founder of Comedy A.M which is the world’s first morning club! When I say morning, I mean proper morning; 6:30am is a very tricky time to get a comedian out of bed for a gig but her events are always worth it! Her philosophy is all about encouraging wellness and kick starting the day with a bout of laughter therapy. What better way to compliment your morning croissant and latte than with cohort of comedians? Keeping the theme health related with the intention of proving that laughter is the best medicine – apologies for the obvious pun – we decided to do something to mark the NHS’ 70th birthday in 2018. The night is a mix of acts with various connections to the NHS; patient as well as doctor stories. We’ve got a surgeon, GP and neurologist on the bill and Simon Brodkin (ex-doctor) is our MC. We’re fundraising for Young Minds mental health charity which does phenomenally inspiring work with children and adolescents.

A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doc Away is at the Museum of Comedy on 21st November 19:30. NHS staff and student concessions apply! (Quote NHS70…) For tickets and more information click here!

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