Nadia P. Manzoor is a New York-based British-Pakistani writer, comedian and cultural commentator whose credits include the Gotham Award-winning viral web series Shugs & Fats (Tribeca Film Festival) and her autobiographical solo show Burq Off! in which she embodied 21 characters to widespread critical acclaim and sold-out audiences in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Toronto, Vancouver, and Seoul.
How did you get into comedy/writing/producing?
Sort of magically. I had just moved to New York after leaving an abusive relationship and I started writing all the time, just trying to get it out and process it. I took a writing class and got a prompt about a window and the rest was history. I started working on a memoir. At the same time I started doing improv in NY and performing in a troupe. Then I made a comedy web series, Shugs & Fats, with my comedian co-creator Radhika Vaz. I produced three seasons, and we won a Gotham Award for the series. I also produced my first solo show and took it all over the world.
One of the things I’ve realised about producing is it’s the most powerful thing you can do rather than wait for someone to give you permission to share your art. Producing gives me the permission I need. I’ve always been a jokester. I used to lead Friday joke corner at my high school and always loved doing voices and characters. I didn’t understand it was a craft and a skill set because it was always reflected back to me that I was funny and one day it would make my husband happy. I didn’t understand this was a creative gift until years and years later.
Tell us about your comedy style.
I love playing other people in my life, embodying their spirits, their way of speaking, the way they carry themselves. And it ends up being really funny. I’m irreverent, direct, warm but with bite. I go into the darkness of life, the abuse and addiction and the reasons we choose bad relationships, and I tell it from a humorous lens. I’m not observing from a distance, I’m reporting from inside it. I pull you in close and then take you somewhere you didn’t expect. My comedy comes out of my relationships and my life. It’s funny because it’s true.
What’s your show about and where can we see it?
Jerk Off! is the show I never thought I’d actually make. Because of what it required of me to get to a place of honesty about abuse. It’s the sequel to Burq Off!, my first solo show that toured internationally and got the kind of reception that still kind of blows my mind. And this is me returning to the stage post-children, going darker and deeper.
A Pakistani Muslim family shatters after the sudden death of the mother. A young woman drowning in guilt flees to Boston, falls for a seductive six foot five hip hop dancer from the Bronx, and dives headfirst into a whole new world, one that promises escape from everything she can’t face. Navigating between prayer rugs and porn, cousin marriages and popping battles. It’s a love story. A grief story. A dance show. It’s darkly funny. And it takes you into the wound and lets you sit there. No clean way out. That last part is the thing I’m most proud of. Catch it at Underbelly, the Dairy Room, August 5th to 30th.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My life. All the work I make comes from lived experience. My family growing up, being a third culture kid in North London, being married, becoming a mother. Now that I’m in perimenopause trust me there is going to be a LOT of new material coming. My life is the biggest source of inspiration I have and honestly it never runs out.
What’s next for you?
Taking Jerk Off! to its next proper production. The West End, Off Broadway, touring. I’m also developing my stand up special about motherhood and marriage called Disobedient.
Who are your favourite Funny Women?
Ali Wong, Wanda Sykes, Radhika Vaz, Amy Poehler, Ilana Glaser, Tina Fey. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maya Rudolph, AB Fab.. the entire cast of Goodness Gracious Me.
How does it feel to take this to Edinburgh?
Completely crazy and completely magnetising. Particularly with two young kids in tow. I’m stepping into this big unknown thing but it’s energising in a way I can’t fully explain. I cannot wait.
What do you love about comedy/writing/producing?
Producing gives me permission. I don’t have to wait for someone to decide my story is worth telling. Writing is how I process being alive. And comedy is how I tell the truth without it destroying everyone in the room, including me.
Keep up to date with Nadia on Instagram.
Tickets and more information can be found here!
