The adage is:"'Dying is easy, comedy is hard", and it rings true if you've ever had the misfortune of listening to a bad stand-up where even the alcohol can't help inducing laughter. But when they're good, as British comedienne Gina Yashere, 33, undoubtedly is, it can be belly-achingly brilliant. P.Ramakrishnan meets the woman who is a laugh-a-minute.
Born to Nigerian parents, with her red Mohawk and her distinct British accent, Gina Yashere, the fine celebrity impersonator and casual observer to the inanities of life has a faithful following. Ever-tickled by her take on all things in contemporary life, celebrity-dom and what's on reality television's latest burp, Big Brother, Yashere is never short of material to poke fun at.
"Big Brother is so stupid, I don't understand why I watch it," admits Yashere confessing to viewing drivel on the idiot box. "There's no justice in this world - the no-talent freak parades on reality TV land up with contracts and are given shows - when others who've been working hard in this business for years can't get a meeting with producers. No justice. But then, they have a career lifespan of about a season, if even, and they die off don't they?"
If only.
Familiar to those with access to the comedies on BBC, with appearances on shows like The Lenny Henry Show and Up Late with Gina Yashere, she's getting more visible than risible, as cameos in films such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (as 'Polythene Pam' the murderess specialising in plastic bag suffocation) and in Mr In-Between. Then there's that penultimate testament to modern-day acting, a role in the highly successful play, The Vagina Monologues, at The West End in London.
But make no mistake, Yashere's a comedienne at heart and as her cracking performance at Punchline in Hong Kong proved, she takes no prisoners. Bulldozing in after an act that , um...er...didn't go well, she stood her ground, even though a semi-hostile and semi-inebriated crowd awaited her.
"I had a feeling things might get a bit iffy," she says, being one of the few female comics to make it on the jet-set league of a working stand-up. "The first act didn't go train 'em like dogs. There were a few in the front rows who thought they could heckle me but I let them know who's in control."
Control is key.
With a rich source of materials collected over the last decade ("I've got a mental Roladex of material"), she could be having a burger minutes before going on and never breaks into a sweat before heading to stage. The only time a doubt crept in, was in Montreal on an urban ("Can you substitute that word 'urban' with 'black' please? They call us 'urban' now!) comedy show. She followed a host of American comics, unsure and self-admittedly, a little shook up.
"Usually, I'm never ever nervous. I love it out there. I know my material. But at this event, all these Americans took the stage hostage, they were all bling-bling, mother****ers this and what up n***?!"
"And then I came on with my accent and there was a bit of a silence," she says with a dramatic pause and mouth agape. "They kept staring at my lips because they couldn't believe I could speak like this and I don't do sex jokes and politics and mouth off. But they came around. I wanted to do well because if I failed, not only would I flop in front of thousands of people, but also among a row of well-known comedians, my comrades. And I didn't want that.
It went really well. My material is pretty clean I guess, mostly from life and television and of course my mother! I'm not that political, except I think that Blair is George Bush's bitch and we should have never gotten into this war."
Riding through the labyrinth roads that lead from Le Meridien Cyberport to Central, ("nice hotel but it really is in the middle of nowhere ain't it?") in a speeding cab, Yashere 's as ebullient off stage as she is on. There is no topic that's taboo under the spotlight, so why would it be in an interview?
"When asked to go to Iraq to entertain the troops a few weeks ago, I originally thought, 'No way!' This is a stupid, pointless war that's brought nothing but death to our own people - you can quote me on that Blair Bush bitch comment by the way - but then I kept thinking about our soldiers there, what were they doing all these weeks and months?" she says, playing with the diamond encrusted 'G' pendant around her neck.
"I was there for a week and there was nothing to do, and it did my head in. But I'm glad that I went, the guys were great, and the responses I got were brilliant, but am never going back to Iraq."
What made her decide to go to the war-torn venue in the first place?
"The money, of course!" The car almost shakes as everyone in the cab, laughs. "You don't think it was for the good of mankind do ya? No. Seriously, I'm so glad I did it. But again, I'm never going back! Can you write that down please? Never. Going. Back."
Winner of the best female Stand-Up at the Black International Comedy Awards in 2002, the former lift engineer is riding high and unshackled from a desk job. Looking back at her strict upbringing, her family, and mom in particular, is a rich source of material.
"My mother wants gadgets she can't use, 'What is theese idop? Everyone has one, I want one!' So I got her an ipod and its still in the box. Anything she sees at my place she wants. My mother wants. Wants me to get married, have kids, but once I was on television, she said, 'No she's busy having a careeeer. Keedz can come later!' Still in that thick, Nigerian accent She left Africa 40 years [ago] but still can't shake it off! But once the TV gigs run out, I'm sure she'll be back on the baby track."
Does mama Yashere mind being the butt of many a routine? "Oh God no. She always tries to come to my shows, I point her out, she stands up, and gets a standing ovation! Loves it. Loves the attention." she says with a laugh. "My brothers and sisters, they just want to hide! I'm the only one in showbiz, they have real jobs."
A decade ago, Yashere went the proper route of studying Physics, Maths and French, and was an engineer for four years but a comic sketch she did with two other friends, which she wrote, was staged for a small charity event. When the audience went wild for it, the trio went around small theatres and venues around the UK, performing the same skit again and again, and winning accolades and awards in competitions.
"One night, one of the girls couldn't make it 'cause she was working, and the other girl got sick so I ended up alone at the event," recollects Yashere as we walk up Lan Kwai Fong, looking for a place to eat. "I still had to go on, and I just started talking about all the funny things that happened to me. And they loved it. I really enjoyed the audience laughter. You know what? I was kicked out of that group even though I did all the writing. But I didn't get knocked down, I went solo. My own Diana Ross moment!"
Swinging out her arms in a dramatic fashion, lunch at Post 97 is suddenly a private performance of tales and anecdotes.
"But there's no bitterness. A while ago, I ran a comedy club in London and I invited them to perform. No grudges. I'm bigger than that!"
Were they any good?
"Utter crap!"
Gina Yashere appears at The Punchline Comedy Club for two more shows - more info here.
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