INTERVIEWS WITH THE BBC NEW COMEDY AWARD 2017 FINALISTS
Yumna Mohamed - UPDATE - Unfortunately Mohamed has had to withdraw - more here.
Originally hailing from Johannesburg, Yumna moved to London in 2016, where she currently lives in Tower Hamlets. Before this, Yumna lived in New York, where she graduated from journalism school, and she has been working as a financial journalist ever since.
Yumna’s comedy career started when a friend signed her up for an open mic in one of Johannesburg's first comedy clubs, The Underground, which was run by Whacked Comedy agent Taffia Keight and comedian Jon Vlismas.
Whilst living in the States, Yumna once performed at Amateur Night at the Apollo in Harlem, and she made the top 10 of So You Think You’re Funny in 2015.
On something you might not know about her:
“My performance at New York’s Apollo did not go well. My audience was made up of Harlem residents and German tourists, and I was booed off stage and then later booed out of the Popeye’s restaurant next to the theatre. Luckily, like my comedy idol Norm McDonald, I find failure personally entertaining so it was a hilarious anti-comedic moment for me.”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“Like many comedians, I have a lot of self-doubt that holds me back, especially in an increasingly saturated industry. So even making it to the first heat of the BBC New Comedy Award was very validating and makes me want to work harder. Never has the phrase “it’s an honour just to be nominated” meant more. Even my profound imposter syndrome can’t stop me from feeling proud to make it to the final.”
Sikisa
Sikisa, who also goes by the stage name Twix, is from London. After graduating from Kingston University with a degree in law, she now works in the charity sector and for the Cavendish Arms.
Sikisa first became drawn into the world of comedy whilst working at the Cavendish Arms and she recalls: “They run a weekly comedy night called Comedy Virgins and the promoters (who were also my bosses) said that I should give it a go as they thought I was funny. I remember going on stage without knowing what I was going to say and just talking about a news story I heard about a man jumping in a lion's den at a zoo. I got a few laughs, but at that time still didn't think I was funny, but a year later I thought I would give comedy a proper stab and started gigging.”
She describes her comedy as “sass and full of energy” and was a semi-finalist in Funny Women 2016.
On something you might not know about her:
“If anything, life inspires me - especially living in London there is always something happening which can be turned into something funny.”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“It means a lot for me to get so far into this competition because it means that the hard work is paying off. I have had the opportunity to see many performers over the last few years and to be recognised for having a talent and a funny woman of colour is amazing.”
Jacob Hawley
Born in Stevenage, Jacob grew up in Stotfold and later in Arlesey, before heading off to the Greek resort of Faliraki where he spent his evenings performing Kings of Leon songs to holidaymakers.
On his return, Jacob moved to Kennington in London and studied for a degree in theatre arts at Middlesex University, where he now works.
Jacob describes his comedy as a performance of anecdotes and social observations, all told through his point of view.
On something you might not know about him:
“Paul Sinha really inspires me. When I was 19 I worked the bar at a comedy club. I hadn't started performing comedy but I knew I wanted to be a comedian. I'd watch him every night and he was amazing. It was usually quite a rowdy night but he had an amazing knack of controlling the room and also being introspective, vulnerable and interesting. I would always be inspired to go home and write.”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“It's unexpected and very flattering. Plus I've got a nice joke about Gary Lineker. I'd love him to hear it.”
Heidi Regan
Originally from Newcastle, Australia, Heidi has been living in the UK for nine years and currently resides in London. After completing a degree in communications, aspiring writer Heidi took up a number of jobs such as media monitoring and, most recently, as a receptionist at an animation company, which allows her to focus on writing in the evenings.
Heidi won So You Think You’re Funny 2016 and she once won the Australian Writers Guild award for the best unproduced feature screenplay, for a comedy she wrote about a killer shark. She describes her comedy as “slightly surreal and silly”.
On something you might not know about her:
“I always had stage fright and a complete lack of interest in ever doing stand-up myself, but eventually I had a crisis about how to get my writing out into the world. However, after my first gig I immediately saw it was not only not going to kill me, but that stand up was a wonderful world of fun and puzzles and some of the most wonderful people I’ve met in my life. And also that stage fright is curable.”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“It means so much because being raised on BBC comedy was a really big part of why I moved over to the UK. It is also wonderful when a competition can show you that a very silly idea you’ve had can actually connect with some audiences. It’s a very nice confidence boost.”
Andy Field
Born and raised in Crawley, Andy holds a Bachelor’s degree in comedy writing and performance from Southampton Solent, as well as a Master’s in creative writing from Brunel University.
Having always wanted to be a stand-up comedian, Andy performed his first gig during fresher’s week in Southampton, recalling “It went really well, too well in fact because it made me cocky for my second gig where I overran by twice my time and the MC turned the lights and mic off to make me leave the stage.”
In 2015, Andy won the Chortle Student Comedy Award and says of his comedy style: “The primary aim of my stand up is to be funny and that's what I'm going for at all times.”
On something you might not know about him:
“I’m quite tall.”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“It means a tremendous amount to me when I gain any success in comedy, as the life of a comedian is the only one I have ever wanted so I'm deeply appreciative of any opportunity to show what I can do and make my dreams into reality.”
Aaron Simmonds
Aaron was born in Pinner, and now lives a few miles down the road in Harrow, on which he says “It only took 26 years to move that distance. So by my calculations, I could be in Wembley in 30-40 years’ time.”
After spending a year at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, Aaron left to become a personal trainer, and for the past few years he has been pursuing a career in comedy alongside this.
Aaron has won a number of gong shows including The Blackout at Up The Creek in 2016, Coastal Comedy and JAM Comedy, both in 2017. He was also a finalist in the Hastings Fringe Best Newcomer 2017.
On something you might not know about him:
“When I was four-years-old, doctors told my parents that I would struggle to ever walk and would never be able to do certain coordination based activities like juggling etc. But, after 20 years of physical and mental training, I can juggle…”
On getting through to the final of the BBC New Comedy Award:
“I think the most exciting part so far was when my first heat went out on radio. It was the first time that my grandparents and cousins had heard me do stand up and to be able to do that (with suitable material!) was really great.”
The final will be held at the Edinburgh Fringe on Sunday 13th August at 6pm and broadcast live on BBC Radio 4.
