INTERVIEW: Shappi Khorsandi
February 13, 2008She describes herself as a 5 ft 2 and-a-half comedienne with straight hair, who’s freaking out because she has so much to do and so little time to do it in. The Void prefer to simply describe her as plain darn funny.
Currently performing her one-woman stand-up show in London’s plush (though rather small) Soho Theatre, The Void caught up with Iranian comedienne Shappi Khorsandi to talk about her life, her influences and of course, the new show.
What first made you want to become a stand-up?
I think I just have wanted to do it ever since I was a little kid really. Then when I got older, Saturday Live with Ben Elton was on the telly and that was when I realised that it was a proper job. Then when I left university I just started doing a few open spots around London and to be honest with you, everybody else I knew was writing CVs and filling in application forms to work in advertising or the BBC and I would rather hang myself than put together a CV. I just find it mind-numbing and I just didn’t want to take the proper job route, so I worked as a life model and made a living as a stand up. It’s a good enough career!
Your show at the Soho Theatre in London is called Carry On Shappi. Is it as it sounds; a homage to the great Carry On films of old?
Not at all. I won’t be wearing any ill-fitting bras that pop off half way through or anything. No, it has nothing to do with that. In fact the name is deliberately not saying what it’s about because in Edinburgh it was primarily about being nine months pregnant, and I’m no longer nine months pregnant, so I’m actually looking at it now and about half of what I did in Edinburgh I can’t do. It’s really just an hour of stand up and what’s been going on in my head over the last six months. A lot of it will be a lot newer than what was in the Edinburgh show in August, because I can’t really do stuff about life with a huge bump because I haven’t got one any more.
Your father, Hadi Khorsandi, is a well-known Iranian satirist. Did having a father involved in comedy have much effect on your career?
Yeah. I guess the effect it had was that it was very normal for me to do this job, but the negative effect was that I was expected to become very successful at it very quickly. I had those sorts of issues happening, but I think on the plus side, not for one second did my parents say, “Don’t you want to study for a PGCE?” or whatever it is, so it didn’t help, but it didn’t not help if you see what I mean.
I mean, expectations were high and it kind of got frustrating when my dad couldn’t really understand why at the age of 24 I didn’t have my own television show. It would be funny because we would be watching something and my parents would just turn to me and say, “Oh Shappi, why don’t you go and host that?” Do you know what? That didn’t occur to me! I’ll just ring the producers now and introduce myself to them! (laughs)
You grew up in the UK instead of Iran. Do you think you would have still tried to have been a stand-up if you hadn’t?
Well, I couldn’t. Not if Iran was like it is today. I don’t think it would have been a viable career option. I probably would have worked in radio or TV in some capacity, but no. It sometimes breaks my heart when you think of somewhere like Tehran and you think of all those little girls there who want to be stand-ups and they don’t have the chance to do so or even know what it is! They have these weird things they want to say and be able to make people laugh and they don’t even know that you can make a career out of that in another country. So no, it would have been very different.
You’re married to the comedian and musician Christian Reilly. Is it weird being married to someone who is in the same profession?
No, I think it’s much better, because if I had a husband who did a normal job I would never see them, and we probably see more of each other than a lot of other couples do. Plus I like taking my work home with me, because it’s not like plumbing; it’s all in your head and it’s nice to always have someone with you to be able to try your crappy jokes out on. Plus we write together, which we find a lot of fun but finding the time to do it is hard.
I think any two people that are in the same job have pros and cons. There are times where I want to bugger off to another country because something has come up and he’s got something here and we have to discuss who looks after the baby and it’s a matter of operating as a family and deciding what benefits all of us rather than just you and your fun.
So what’s next for Shappi Khorsandi after the London shows? Will you be returning to Edinburgh this year?
Oh I wish I could! I’ve had to cancel Edinburgh this year because I had a book commissioned. My book has to be finished by November, all the rewrites the lot, and so I have taken the sensible but frustrating decision not to go to Edinburgh this year, because I’ve got to write my book and unless I want it to be a pop-up book something has to give and unfortunately it’s the festival. Next year though, definitely! I have already written the show and already know the title. I fact some of next year’s show will be in the reworked show at the Soho Theatre.
Quick Fire questions:
Favourite films: The Great Dictator with Charlie Chaplin
Last CD you listened to: I think it was Rufus Wainwright. Yeah, I bought one of his recently so probably that.
If you had a choice, would you rather be in the A Team or The Ghostbusters, and who would you be: Ghostbusters, definitely Ghostbusters. I would probably be… the one who gets the girl. Is that Bill Murray or Dan Ackroyd? Whichever one gets the girl in the end.
Shappi Khorsandi: Carry On Shappi is on at the Soho Theatre in London until 16th February 2008.
