Award-winning, critically acclaimed British stand-up comedian Shazia Mirza follows the success of her tours; With Love From St. Tropez and The Kardashians Made Me Do It with her latest show; Coconut. Nominated for Best Stand Up Tour Show in Channel 4’s National Comedy Awards, Shazia is again taking on the burning issues of our time in her own unique way.
Funny Women: tell us about your show.
Shazia Mirza: My show is about survival, strength, labels, and representation. It’s about me surviving Celebrity: The Island with Bear Grylls and being labelled a strong woman, which was a useless label.
FW: What does being a ‘strong woman’ mean to you?
SM: It means eating chocolate in bed at three in the morning, crying in public because you can’t find a parking space, and wearing a bikini even though you don’t have a bikini body.
FW: How does it feel to be returning to a ‘back to normal’ Edinburgh Fringe?
SM: It’s like nothing ever happened. Everything is normal. I saw a man last night on Princess Street sitting on the pavement eating chips and gravy with his hands. Life has returned.
FW: Have you got any tips for comedians going up to the festival for the first time?
SM: The most important thing is the show. Write a good show, do a good show and try and have as much sex as possible.
FW: Who are the funny women are you hoping to see in Edinburgh this year?
SM: I will see Kiri Pritchard McLean, who is always interesting and funny and I will see a lot of random newcomers who I’ve never heard of, that’s always very exciting.
Shazia Mirza: Coconut, is at the Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose at 7.40pm 3rd-28th August. For tickets visit www.edfringe.com.
Photo by Idil Sukan.
