Last night, myself and an old friend had our yearly meet up to plot chaos against our friends and discuss the most important topics like, who’s getting married next, why Nando’s quarter chicken have shrunk to the size of a chicken wing and plans to leave the UK now that the ultimate kerfuffle that is Brexit – or as my friend would say, “The expression of the British desire to leave civilized society and regress to the racist days of the empire” this is coming from an Englishman. A lot of people don’t know what it actually means to vote out of leaving the EU. What they don’t realize is that it opens reasons to think it’s valid for racists to be openly racist.
I’ve seen and experienced this outrage a week after the news was delivered while I stood on a station platform at Victoria on the way home from my travels in Greece, a group of intoxicated mess who looked to be in their 40’s chanting “the vote is out…these f****** paki’s need to go home, go home, go home!” Then casually points at my direction. Firstly, Pakistan have had diverse contributions and influence on British society, culture, economy, politics and sports. They are one of the most educated workforce and provides a wealth of natural resources that the UK needs. Secondly, we clearly need to educate some people on which countries the EU comprises of.
It’s quite disturbing to see it in the age of society where we thought racism was in the past. Evidently, it never left.
Here’s a video presented by Trevor Noah to explain a little bit more about Brexit.
“The expression of the British desire to leave civilized society and regress to the racist days of the empire”
After our quick Nando’s fix by Farringdon station, we headed over to see a stand up Comedy which headlined Sheraz Yousaf. He not only provides you with various learning’s about his culture and the general society we live in, but he is undoubtedly a rising star – we were still in stitches after the show and sparked further discussions on social issues which led me to writing this article. That’s the kind of power Comedians should attain. Not only were we laughing the whole way through, it made us think about the important stuff that should be talked about.
Sonia Aste (img comedy cv) & Sindhu Vee (Image by Delhi Events)
The venue was at Betsey Trotwood – it’s a little quirky basement venue, however being that the weather was gloriously warm, events like these should invest in doing outdoor venues. The set was called, The Pursuit of Manlyness. “a look on what it means to be a man, this standup routine delights and subverts in equal measure. Chock full of insight, jokes and rip-roaringly funny anecdotes, this is comedy of the highest calibre” by YPLAN. I couldn’t agree more.
Before Sheraz came on stage, the very wonderful and imaginative Sonia Aste opened the show. Her presence raised the energy in the room and got the audience to participate during her act. She handed over a list to an audience member and asked him to read out a subject matter that she could talk about. It was insightful and her vigour was very impressive. A highlight was when she talked of how so many people assumed she’s an American because of her accent, the typical ignorance. She also joked about her father despising her living in the UK – her father accused the British of stealing their gold. Which in fact “wasn’t their gold, they took that gold from another country”. This Spanish comedian is worth looking out for. Sindhu Vee, has had a heap of knowledge on various cultures. She mostly focused on family; the divide of three generations in one roof. Her set was hilariously relevant and a highlight was when she had to mediate between her elderly parents and her kids on social media. I’ve seen her on various events and would gladly see her shows over again- see her in action.
Many of the subject matters that these awesome comedians touched on were very relevant issues that we encounter on the day to day basis. Underneath the thin layer of humour lies a sickly rich serving of social issues; about race relations, politics, various controversial news and social norms. Many comedians have spools of intelligence that can’t be faltered which they use as a harness in the delivery of their comedy. As comedians, they tend to know their ‘stuff’ and with that, adding their own personal experiences and oftentimes turning themselves into the subject of the joke which provides the audience with the taste of authenticity. You may not realize this but the power of comedy can change the world. It’s funny, but it’s true.
A big thank you to Sheraz Yousaf, Sonia Aste & Sindhu Vee.
To catch Sheraz follow this link.
Art of Words 