Sadia Azmat

Sadia Azmat (Urdu: عظمت سعدیہ‎; born 1987) is an English stand-up comedian of Pakistani descent.

Sadia Azmat
Born1982 (age 37–38)
Essex, UK
MediumStand-up
NationalityBritish
Years active2010–present
GenresObservational comedy, self-deprecation
Subject(s)British Asian culture, stereotypes, racism, Islamic humour
Websitewww.sadiaazmat.com

Early life

Azmat was born in Essex, England.[1] At the age of 19, she started wearing hijab.[2]

Career

Azmat had been working in call-centres of varying descriptions.[1][3]

In 2010, Azmat started performing stand-up comedy.[4] She was given insight into how to develop a career through stand-up by professional comedian, Deborah Frances-White.[4]

In August 2011, she performed her debut show Please Hold – You're Being Transferred to a UK Based Asian Representative at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival[4] at the Laughing Horse @ Finnegan's Wake,[5] which was directed by Deborah Frances-White.[1] In August 2011, Azmat also featured on BBC Radio 4's Front Row[6] and a producer invited her to perform at the Cape Town Festival 2012.[4]

In December 2011, she performed at the Desi Central Comedy Tour in Glasgow.[7]

In August 2014, she performed her debut full-length show I'm not Malala at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Laughing Horse.[8] In September 2014, she was interviewed by Nadia Hussein and Sakinah Lenoir on British Muslim TV's Sisters' Hour.[9]

In June 2015, she made a short film Things I Have Been Asked As a British Muslim as part of the British Muslim Comedy series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by BBC to released on BBC iPlayer.[2][10][11] Azmat debunked Muslim stereotypes, including the "Muslim verdict", racism, Ramadan, integration and hijab,[10] thus providing a look at life as a Muslim woman.[12] In August 2015, she performed at the inaugural Muslim Lifestyle Expo at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.[13][14] In September 2015, she appeared on Sky News's Morning Stories series on YouTube, questioning what people would be willing to do for someone we love.[15]

In January 2016, Azmat appeared on This Week where she criticised David Cameron's push for English language lessons for Muslim women to help them resist the lure of Islamic extremism.[16]

In March 2017, as part of our All Women Everywhere month, Azmat appeared on a video about Asian Women talking about stereotypes they deal with while dating.[17]

Azmat also a regular in the YouTube channel Bend It TV aimed to providing the news from an Asian perspective.[11]

Comedy style

Azmat's act is observational humour[4] about her experiences working as a call centre[3] operative for a well-known car insurance firm,[5] being a British Asian[4] Muslim[18] growing up in London,[4] and moves on to more general cross-cultural issues,[19] about race[20] and religion,[3] her difficulties in the UK job market and an Asian mum gag.[19]

Azmat is described by The Sunday Times as "hilarious and insightful" for her current set of I Am Not Malala.[11]

Awards and recognition

In September[21] 2011,[22] Azmat was shortlisted[23] for the Funny Women Awards final[24] in Leicester Square Theatre, London.[25]

gollark: English definitely doesn't.
gollark: "Official language"? Most languages don't have official authorities.
gollark: Well, the standard English one.
gollark: They should really just accept people using what's basically now the standard gender neutral pronoun.
gollark: You should probably just always use "they" if in doubt, or indeed all the time on the internet because it's more convenient than trying to remember genders or whatever.

See also

References
  1. Hawkins, Si (12 August 2011). "Sadia Azmat". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  2. "British Muslim Comedy - Sadia Azmat: Things I have been asked as a British Muslim". BBC iPlayer. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. Hawkins, Si (17 August 2011). "Finalist Profile: Sadia Azmat". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  4. Azmat, Sadia (2011). "Finalist Profile: Sadia Azmat". Funny Women. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. Summerlin, William (11 August 2011). "Please Hold, You're Being Transferred to a UK Based Asian Representative". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  6. "Front Row: In Edinburgh with AL Kennedy; Bobby Crush; Andy Zaltzman". BBC Radio 4. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  7. "Desi Central Comedy Tour 2011". Awaz Media. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  8. Glasheen, Emma (12 August 2014). "Interview: Sadia Azmat". FreshAir. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  9. "Sisters' Hour - S01E47". British Muslim. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  10. Jones, Alice (25 June 2015). "Ramadan films and HaLOL: the rise of British Muslim Comedy". The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  11. Badat, Hafeeza (19 June 2015). "British Muslim Comedy Takes Over BBC iPlayer". Asian Image. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  12. Harrison, Phil; Mumford, Gwilym (15 June 2015). "Catch-up TV guide: from All Shook Up to British Muslim Comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  13. Gardiner, Melanie (6 August 2015). "UK Muslim lifestyle expo hailed a success". ExhibitionWorld. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  14. Beckerleg, Mel (30 July 2015). "Couple organise Muslim lifestyle expo". Aylesbury: Bucks Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. Harrison, Phil (6 September 2015). "Morning Stories: Love Can Be Unfair". Sky News. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  16. "Sadia Azmat on PM's language comments". BBC News. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  17. Bell, Poorna; Rajan, Nitya (1 March 2016). "Asian Women Talk About The Dumbass Stereotypes They Deal With While Dating, And It's Hilarious AF". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  18. Frances-White, Deborah; Marsha, Shandur (2013). Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-Up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. p. 36. ISBN 978-1472526380.
  19. "Sadia Azmat". The Glee Club. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  20. Ajderian, Jennifer (10 August 2011). "ED2011 Comedy Review: Please Hold, You're Being Transferred To A UK Based Asian Representative (Sadia Azmat / Laughing Horse Free Festival)". Edinburgh: ThreeWeeks. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  21. "Funny Women Awards Final". London Is Funny. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  22. "Past Finalists". Funny Women. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  23. "It's no 'red or black' for Awards quarter and semi-final". Funny Women. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  24. Aird, Jon (12 October 2011). "Funny Women". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  25. "The King is Queen of Comedy". tiemotalkofthetown. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
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