| Bilal Zafar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 October 1991 |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Genres | Observational humour, Satire |
| Subject(s) | Islamophobia, Racism, Cakes |
| Website | www |
Bilal Zafar (born 16 October 1991) is a British comedian who won the New Act of The Year Award (NATY) in 2016 [1] and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in the same year. [2] He has written for The Independent [3] and The Guardian . [4]
Zafar is from Wanstead, London, and he studied at Wanstead High School before moving to Manchester to study screenwriting at The University of Bolton. [5] [6] He worked part-time as a concierge and a care assistant while living in Manchester. [7] Zafar moved back to London in January 2016. [5]
Zafar began performing stand-up comedy in his final year of university in 2013 and is best known for performing material about racism and islamophobia. He cites Simon Amstell and Chris Morris as influences. [5]
In 2015, Zafar was runner-up in the New Comedian of the Year competition run by Leicester Square Theatre. [8] [9] The following year he won first prize at the NATYS Awards in London at the same venue. [10] [11]
Described as a "wry storyteller", [10] Zafar appeared on the BBC Asian Network's Comedy Show in 2016 and 2017. [12] He has also appeared on BBC Radio Four's Loose Ends [13] and presented one of the station's Stand-Up Specials. [14]
Since 2020 Zafar has attracted a large regular audience and gained the status of Partner for his channel on live-streaming platform Twitch, where he portrays the manager of a football team within the videogame Pro Evolution Soccer 5. The manager character frequently engages his audience of “assistant managers” whose participation in the stream’s chat room and enthusiasm for in-jokes Zafar encourages. [15]
Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".
James Anthony Patrick Carr is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners, for which he has been both praised and criticised. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regularly appeared on television as the host of Channel 4 panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
Malcolm Hardee was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor.
Carl Donnelly is a British stand-up, dancer, comedian, and writer. He has performed 11 solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival, being nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards twice - once for best newcomer, and once for best show. He turned vegan in 2013, and has since become an ambassador for Veganuary. He has talked about being vegan extensively in his act.
Iain Andrew Stirling is a Scottish comedian, writer, television presenter, narrator and Twitch streamer from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Bridget Louise Christie is an English stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She has written and performed 13 solo stand-up shows and several comedy tours, in addition to radio and television work.
Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast ) and Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast are two related comedy podcasts, created and hosted by British comedian Richard Herring. Hosted on The British Comedy Guide, the podcasts are interviews with notable guests, usually fellow comedians. The original Edinburgh Fringe podcast ran from 2011 to 2013, and took place most days for the duration of the Fringe, focusing on interviews with performers at the festival. They also contain short stand-up segments from Fringe performers. The Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, recorded at Leicester Square in London, began in 2012 and follows a similar format, with higher profile guests. It runs for a shorter series than the Edinburgh Fringe version, with weekly recordings.
The NATYS: New Acts of The Year Showcase, previously known as The Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, is an annual industry showcase that promotes new waves of emerging Comedy and Variety acts. It ran at the Hackney Empire Theatre from 1988 until 2010. Since then it has toured round London theatres and performance spaces, playing the Barbican Theatre, Stratford Circus, Bloomsbury Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre and The Bernie Grant Arts Centre.
John Michael David Robins is an English stand-up comedian and radio presenter.
Nishant Kumar is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter, political commentator, and podcast host. He became known as the host of satirical comedy The Mash Report, now known as Late Night Mash. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi. Since May 2023, he has been the co-host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK.
Ria Lina is a British comedian, actress and writer. She has appeared on Yesterday, Today & The Day Before, Mock the Week, Steph's Packed Lunch, The Now Show, The News Quiz, Sky News, and Have I Got News for You. In 2003, she won an Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy award for Best Comedian.
Sofie Hagen is a London-based Danish comedian, author, podcaster, fashion designer, and fat acceptance campaigner. She has toured with comedy shows, released a book and hosted and co-hosted a number of podcasts.
Jay Shareef is a British stand-up comedian, broadcaster, podcaster and social commentator, also known by the stage name Jay Islaam.
Sindhu Venkatanarayanan is an Indian born British stand-up comedian and actress who lives and performs in the United Kingdom under the name of Sindhu Vee. She starred as Mrs. Phelps in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Matilda the Musical.
Wendy Wason is a Scottish writer, comedian and actress.
Catherine Bohart is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the United Kingdom.
Sarah Keyworth is an English stand-up comedian who began a career in comedy in 2012, eventually going full-time in 2018 after being nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Keyworth has appeared on television comedy shows such as Roast Battle, The Now Show, The Dog Ate My Homework, Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Alasdair Beckett-King is an English stand-up comedian, video game writer, and actor from Durham. He won the 2017 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year.
Charlie George is a British writer and comedian from Swindon. In 2019, she won "The Comedy Bloomers LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year" and was a runner-up in both So You Think You're Funny and Funny Women. As a scriptwriter, she has written for British comedy shows Have I Got News for You, Death to 2020,Death to 2021, Blankety Blank, Joe Lycett's Got Your Back and Frankie Boyle's New World Order.
Henry Paker is a British comedian, writer and illustrator.
