Ashfaq has the ability to charm, and in my experience as a comedy goer, this is half the battle
Urooj Ashfaq tells us at the start of her show that in India she is considered an edgy comic (because she talks about things like divorce, and therapy), and in England…”not so much”. She may not be edgy (not even a little bit) but what she is, is charming. The audience really warmed to her, and in my experience as a comedy goer, this is half the battle.
Urooj Ashfaq has just won Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. This is the first-time that an India-based comedian has won the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s most prestigious comedy newcomer award, and it is easy to see why she was chosen. There was a large Indian population in the audience the evening I attended, and a few jokes were aimed directly at them and got big laughs. However, the material was by and large universally relatable; relationships, parents, divorce, therapy, and emotions. Ashfaq also ‘translated’ for us when necessary. This and her jet lagged emotional outbursts (presumably all part of the act?) served to add to the playful, silliness of her style. Again, we liked her!
We were with her from the very beginning to the end. The show got a lot of warm laughs of recognition from the audience and even when some of it did not quite land Ashfaq made a note of it for us, and this in itself got a laugh. I must admit I was surprised to see her still refer to notes in a show that she tells us she has performed over 100 times (and won prestigious awards for) but I think perhaps we can blame this on the jet lag too? The material about divorce did feel a bit well trodden , and it did not feel like we found much new here to explore. More fun were her insights into therapy, going to therapy for your group of friends, and her thoughts on men who never cry.
She did an admirable job at crowd work, although occasionally forgot to reiterate what the person had responded to her question on mic to give those of us at the back a little more context as to what was being discussed.
She is not snarky, she is not dry, she is not polished, and she is certainly not edgy (all things that one might go into a London comedy show expecting) but she is very likeable and it was a gentle, enjoyable, and refreshing hour spent hearing very relatable anecdotes, observations, and jokes.