» Interview with Gina Yashere
Victoria Nangle talks with the fantastic Brit comic taking the US by storm – Gina Yashere
What’s your current show like?
It‘s basically lots of stand-up. There‘s not really much else to it. It‘s me, Gina Yashere, doing what she‘s known for best. Which is jokes, observational stand-up, talking about myself. Obviously I‘ll be talking a little bit about the fact I‘ve lost five stone in weight because everybody wants to know how I did it, so there‘ll be a little bit of that in there. Yeah. Basically what I do.
Congratulations.
Why thank you. (laughs)
What‘s the difference between British and American audiences?
(pause). You know, I haven‘t found that much of a difference to be honest. A British audience will be more comedy savvy. They know what‘s good comedy and what‘s crap comedy. Whereas American audiences, a lot of them don‘t really know. They’re used to a certain – I‘ve been to comedy clubs over there and you‘ll get four comedians getting up all really samey and kind of boring. And the audience lap it up because they don‘t really know any different. You get some fantastic comedians come out of America, but there‘s also a sea of samey, boring, bland comedians out there, and the audience are used to seeing that. So they enjoy it. But then when I come on they‘re like – wow! This is something totally different. They get a taste of something different. So yeah, I reckon British audiences are more comedy savvy.
How was the American television work?
It was Def Comedy Jam that I did where I was the first and only British comic that‘s ever appeared on that show. So doing that was a big weight on my shoulders. But I took it in my stride and I enjoyed it. It was fun. I was already working clubs and doing the gigs. I wasn‘t that nervous because I knew that this was what I‘d been working for all of my career. So it didn‘t faze me very much at all. An audience is an audience. I‘m a British comic but I‘ve travelled all over the world doing comedy. I‘ve been to Iraq twice, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Dubai, Spain. I‘ve done comedy everywhere so, you know, it didn‘t faze me. It‘s just another audience.
Gina Yashere, at The Parlure Spiegeltent, Mon 18 May, 9.45pm, £12/10
