Biog Excerpt:

Imran Yusuf is renowned for his stinging, lyrical street-slang verbiage and super-high energy performance. Fast and furious yet charmingly endearing, his is a unique voice on the Comedy Circuit.

Born in Mombasa, Kenya and raised in the UK with a brief stint at school in the USA, Imran has travelled much of the world including Israel/Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia during the Lebanon Crisis in 2006. His work has been inspired by this rich multicultural background, giving him a youthful, energetic and highly original voice that embodies the multi-cultural wealth that exists in modern Britain.

He seamlessly switches between styles with graceful fluidity, repeatedly delivering heavy-weight punch lines with enormous panache. His seemingly light-hearted satire is mixed with hard-hitting topical commentary on contemporary issues that culminate into a tour de force of comedy offering an all-embracing sentiment in his trademark styling. Read the full article

Imran Yusuf is represented proudly and exclusively by Comic Voice Management, a Comedy Club Ltd company.

> “Bounding on stage for his first ever solo show at Edinburgh, Imran Yusuf isn’t your stereotypical stand-up. For one thing, he’s a Muslim, though he barely refers to this fact. He is also full of positive energy, happiness and joie de vivre.

He’s no doom merchant lamenting his lack of luck with the ladies but a man so full of fun that the audience can’t fail to not only warm to him, but feel positively fired up by his infectious personality. He has the feel good factor on tap.

He’s no oil painting with his scrawny build, large nose and irregular teeth, but his smile lights up the room and the sound of his laughter peppers his material. Born in Kenya, he moved to England at an early age but was educated in the USA and it is from here that he draws the inspiration for most of his material.

His stories of going to school it the States were told in faultless American accents and delighted the bunch of Americans in the audience who, by coincidence, came from the same town.

The comedy drew on his experience of being ridiculed by the Americans for his English accent, but his cultural comparisons are seen from a totally different perspective as he subverts the traditional UK-USA dissonance.

By not focussing on the obvious racial stereotypes, he wins over the entire audience. His happy, positive personality leaves them feeling uplifted, energised and privileged to have had An Audience With Imran Yusuf” ***** Chortle (Cara Sandys. 17.8.10)

>> “Imran Yusuf’s show heralds the birth of a new comedy star. Intelligent, thought provoking and laugh out loud funny it’s a glorious debut.” **** Time Out (Tim Arthur)

>>> “Imran Yusuf has to be one of the most captivating, energetic, and animated stand up comedians I’ve ever seen. His act is at a mile a minute, and he doesn’t let off for any of it. This show was a slight change on his usual act, focusing much more on his personal life, ideas, and experiences.

His delivery is lightning-fast, and with this show you get a real feeling of ‘getting to know’ him. He describes about his time at an American school, and how he was bullied for being British, patriotism and how we choose ‘British (UK)’ on software installations. Throughout the show he high-fives the front row, blows kisses to the girls, which is a really funny touch.

A highlight of the show is the ‘British citizenship test’, showing words such as ‘schedule’ that are often mispronounced due to things like American TV, which he got a guy in the front row answers with flying colours. Although the Fringe was one of the first public shows of this new material, it is already fairly solid, providing a lot of thoughtful insights into big topics like immigration, religion and culture. The material is very personal, and it’s a great to hear so much about a very interesting character such as Imran.” ***** The New Current (Mark Thomas)

>>>> “The Free Fringe is throwing up some great talent, not least this young Londoner of Asian extraction who has been gigging in clubs for a while but appears to be on the cusp of a breakthrough into the mainstream. Yusuf’s material is almost entirely about being a British Muslim, or should that be a Muslim who lives in Britain – a question he poses more than once in a very well thought-through set that subverts a lot of notions about racism.
He has some great stories about the time he spent at middle school in New Jersey; it remains the only time, he tells us, that he has ever been picked on for being English. “You people complain about being called infidel, but you don’t know what racism is until you’ve been called ‘English muffin’.”

Yusuf has a tendency to be a little preachy, but he’s clued-up enough to draw it back with an unexpected punchline when he feels he is losing the room. When he isn’t talking about racism, though, he’s leering at the women in the front row and suggesting they meet him in the loos. Classy.

He’s a very animated performer and a young man in a hurry; Yusuf references coming back next year and being a big star a few too many times, but there’s is no doubting his talent. As he says, catch him before you have to pay for the privilege. Until 29 August” **** Veronica Lee – The Arts Desk

“Imran Yusuf’s show (Laughing Horse @ Espionage 4 stars) is an hour of cheek and charm that takes us briskly through the Asian comic’s early life at an American school where his peers treated him as if he was in Mary Poppins (”Can you imagine me in that film? Well, maybe as a chimney sweep”) through to his life in Britain as a Muslim. “ **** The Independent (Julian Hall)

“Here we are at the end of the Fringe, and there are so many acts I meant to see but didn’t. I have a ‘would like to see’ list the length of the Mile. Then a couple of days ago, Imran Yusuf graduated from this list to the ‘must see’ list. He was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award.
My head is not usually so easily turned; there have been some truly dreadful winners of what was the Perrier, in its various incarnations. But Yusuf is special in that he is the first winner from the ever-growing free Fringe scene, placing it more firmly on the map than ever.
The place is packed to the rafters, with as many turned away. Whilst desperately wanting such a fantastic success story to come out of the incredible amount of hard work and dedication the that is the Free Festival, I am naturally swayed to distrust such hype and so the bar is set high. As far as I am concerned, he needs to prove himself. Not prove that he is a good free act; prove that is he a good act.
He is a bloody good act. He is so good I want to cry a little at the end. Taking in themes of race, culture and identity, he pleas for peace and tolerance. He would be broadly described as ‘political comedy’, but he in fact comes across not as political but as deeply human. It is his very rejection of such boxes that make him so remarkable. Add to this a tremendous physicality and a joyful glint in his eye, and it’s easy to see why I came out of the show somewhat in love with him.
What simultaneously makes him brilliant, but hinders this from being a 5 star review, is his potential to be better. He has his weak moments. These may pass in poorer performers as strong moments, but they undermine my expectations which, by the end, are still high – not because of the hype, but because of what I have seen him do.
I hope he wins the best newcomer. It would be not only an amazing achievement for the free Fringe Festival movement, but one that is well deserved.” **** The Skinny (Lizzie Cass-Maran)

Imran Yusuf
You Would Never Believe…Imran’s a passionate Video Games Consultant for Midway, Eidos, SEGA & Headstrong Games plus enjoys martial arts, free-running, climbing, football & learning to speak Japanese in his spare time.

Edinburgh Show: An Audience with Imran Yusuf
Where: Laughing Horse @ Espionage
When: 6-30 Aug
Time: 4.30pm-5.30pm
Show Summary: The fast-talking lyrical machine-gun comic slows it down for a deep and meaningful look at life with personal stories and a unique life philosophy. Based
on intense personal experiences, a lot of soul searching, lost friendships and fights, comes a light-hearted hour on our commonalities as human beings.

Imran Yusuf’s Upcoming Comedy Club Gigs

“A compact stage benefits this quintet’s matey charm and it’s refreshing to see improv performed with such a professional lack of corpsing. Audience members are incorporated but not humiliated and there’s a great deal of fun to be had in spotting the impending gags. It’s very rare to see improv comedy so consistently hit the mark.” **** The List

“The Noise Next Door are five hyperactive, hypermobile performers, whose lively and unpredictable show is a exemplar of high-quality, high-energy improvised comedy. In a twist on the usual format, they structure their show around the establishment of an agency to fight evil, asking the audience for suggestions regarding their underground lair, the identity of their nemesis, and the format of a secret mission. It’s a clever set-up, marking their show out as distinct from the many other improv troupes on the Fringe, and – with the help of some inspired audience contributions – they create a brilliantly funny hour of preposterous scenarios and over-the-top characters. The interplay between this close-knit group and their astounding physical, facial, verbal, and lyrical dexterity is impressive and consistently entertaining. Accompanied by a quick-thinking guitarist, they also belt out some musical numbers, in an impressive range of genres, including some lightning-fast freestyle rapping. Overall, this is fun, well-executed and original improvised comedy.” **** Broadway Baby (Beth Kahn)

“The Noise Next Door consist of Charlie Granville, Tom Livingstone, Matt Grant, Tom Houghton and Sam Pacelli, with Nathan Marshall on guitar.

This improvised comedy show from The Noise Next Door is unlike anything you have ever seen before. Featuring some corny pubs and witty one-liners, ‘Chaos Control’ is hilarious and sheer genius, excellently improvised and incredibly well presented. The show follows a vague structure about forming a secret agency, but aside of that relies upon audience input. As such, the show varies greatly from performance to performance, but the key fact still remains, that the boys of this ‘camp comedy troupe’ can tackle almost anything the audience suggest to them; ranging from Viking Techno music about Goblin Ninjas, to Richard Branson being hidden away due to constipation.

At times this show can be incredibly bizarre, but it is in this that it’s merit lies – the way in which all of the performers manage to instantaneously create scenes or vocalise songs is nothing short of impressive and almost unbelievable, this is especially the case with guitarist Nathan Marshall who seems to be able to provide musical accompaniment for anything and everything and in every conceivable style. What makes this show even better is that the boys give you everything – great comedy, stunning improvisation and – described as a ‘comedy JLS’ – they can sing! If their comedy ever fails (which in some ways unfortunately it never will) The Noise Next Door could always form a boyband – maybe an option for next year’s Fringe guys?!

Chaos Control is most definitely worth more than the price of a ticket, and I recommend you all pen it into you Fringe planners.” **** ScotsGay

“The penultimate, particularly hectic section of The Noise Next Door’s new show Chaos Control doesn’t work at all. The longer it goes on, the less idea you have what the members of this quickfire improv troupe are trying to achieve, and it exhibits the worst traditional vice of this style of comedy in that the performers seem to be having far more fun than the audience.
Not so the rest of the show, a hodge-podge of off-the-cuff rhyming, (atrocious) dancing and all-round silliness that is often riotously enjoyable. It kicks off with these five young fellows embarking on a “mission”, its various components yelled out in turn from a very willling audience and incorporated with lightning speed into the skit. On the evening I caught them, the result was an agreably surreal adventure in which The Magic Roundabout’s Zebedee led the forces of good against Darth Vader, who was holed up in Worcester Cathedral.

Ok, maybe you had to be there. But had you been, you would have laughed a lot, as well as being treated to — among other things – a hilariously lubricious R&B love song, as well as a mini-musical that incorporated panto, folk and death-metal.
In fact, the death metal vocals sounded very and inexplicably Jamaican. Much as, when we collectively cooked up a drama in which a sausage roll was going to be crucified in the Kellogg’s factory, and four of the troupe gave the fifth punning clues as to what was going on, he came up with the still more improbable: “Are you hiding a sausage-roll that is turning into Jesus?”
The quintet win either way. When they guess correctly, or nail an impression, accent, or rhyme, the speed of thought is both impressive and funny. When they fall flat on their faces, such are the zest and all-round good humour radiating from the stage that, although less impressive, it’s funnier still. That late, scrappable section aside, this is definitely a superior kind of chaos.” **** The Telegraph (Mark Monahan)

The Noise Next Door
You Would Never Believe…Between the 5 guys, one loves mozzarella, there’s a 258 top bowling score, 5 years spent in Kenya, crying on cue, making a belly look pregnant and one has the word ‘flange’ tatooed on an arm.

Edinburgh Show: The Noise Next Door: Chaos Control
Where: 33 Pleasance – Courtyard
When: 4-30 Aug (not 11,18) (Previews 4,5,6)
Time: 7.00pm
Show Summary: Earth-shattering secrets & Impossible odds.  Our mission: Protect mankind, kick ass…and bag sexy chicks. Audience suggestions are transformed into fantastically funny scenes and songs, exposing society’s secrets and unleashing ludicrous characters, witty one-liners and explosive physicality.

The Noise Next Door’s Upcoming Comedy Club Gigs

“John Ryan comedian and Master of Ceremonies for the day drew large crowds where members of the public not only benefitted from a good laugh but gained valuable information as well. The day was a great success thanks to John and it is true that laughter is the best medicine!

Over 100 men had health MOT’s (30% of which were referred to other services). 70 received stop smoking advice, over 80 were given skin cancer awareness information and 75 new blood donors were registered.
500 pedometers and water bottles were distributed, in fact we ran out such was their popularity!

The events focus was on getting men more active. Over 100 took a rowing challenge, over 200 took football and bike challenges. Top scorers got some great prizes including the best sports quiz team.”

Community Public Health Practitioner, Public Health Development Unit

A word from John himself: “The day started out with me avoiding the full English breakfast at the hotel. I felt a bit guilty bulking up on the calories before talking to a crowd about their health. However I got as far as the muesli when the smell of the bacon wafted over. The waitress assured me that it was grilled so I figured it was healthy. Plymouth is a lively town and there was a good crowd many of whom remembered me from last year. The brief was straightforward, we needed to encourage the public to take up some of the many opportunities for health checks, and tips for a healthier lifestyle that were littered around the place. This they did in very ‘healthy’ numbers. The south west has the highest rates of skin cancer in the UK so there was plenty of opportunities to mention the free sun cream and other preventative measures available. The highlight of the day was being able to offer free condoms with my advice to “keep it zipped up and you wont need these’. All in all another great day and I even managed to avoid the chips with my grilled meat and salad (aka a kebab).  Roll on next year.”

Following an exciting year on the the UK comedy circuit, filming of Imran Yusuf’s ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’ performance will take place half way through his show run at the prestigious Edinburgh comedy festival. Imran’s show at The Laughing Horse at Espionage titled ‘An Audience with Imran Yusuf’ is expected to be a great platform for audiences to enjoy his unique brand of stand-up comedy whilst give the national press a taster of what’s to come.

As Imran Yusuf’s exclusive mangement, Comic Voice Mangement is extremely proud to announce this great news. Watch this space for more updates!

Edinburgh Show: Life of Si: Si Harder
Where: The GRV
When: 6th-30th Aug (not 18 Aug)
Time: 6.40pm
Show Summary: Sophomoric sofa-mates Simon and Sy escape their shared abode to run riot with new shenanigans, bigger videos, camper haircuts, skinnier jeans and more pressing cohabitation questions like, “Have you washed that since last year?”, “Is this safe to eat?” and “Did you pack the teapot?”

Simon Feilder’s Upcoming Comedy Club Gigs

Ryan McDonnell

Edinburgh Show: AAA Stand-up
Where: 33 Pleasance – Courtyard
When: 4-30 Aug (Previews 4,5,6)
Time: 11.00pm
Show Summary: Bringing his own brand of upbeat Northern Irish banter to the Fringe with a mixture of laughs and charm, Ryan will entertain you with an energetically, unique view of the world and how he survives in it.

You Would Never Believe…Ryan is former print & radio journalist and massive football fan, following the lesser know mighty force that is Glentoran FC from East Belfast.

Ryan McDonnell’s current Comedy Club Gigs

It’s not the done thing to laugh at mental health issues. Just ask Steve Penk. Strange, as most comedians react to taboos like bulls to a matador’s cape. As John Ryan, standup comic and compere of Cracking Up!, says, “You hear comedians doing jokes about paedophilia, rape, child abuse, murder … no one’s making jokes about mental health.”

Cracking Up! is about to change that, helping to reduce stigma by normalising mental health problems. It’s a variety night – a mix of comedy, sketches and poetry based on research and featuring contributions from people who have experienced mental health difficulties. Developed by NHS Surrey, the show has had a successful local run (including tough gigs such as Woking Football Club), selling out in its two-days in London, and could be coming to a club, theatre, school or business seminar near you.

One of the reasons people can laugh at jokes dealing with the taboos Ryan describes is they are relatively rare. It’s unlikely that someone in a comedy show audience has been directly affected by child abuse (although Jim Jeffries was famously confronted by a member of the audience who felt the comic’s bad-uncle gag was too close to home); one in four people are directly affected by mental illness. Monday’s sold-out theatre, if not quite the hard evidence needed to back up that figure, at least proved that many people are curious. Questioning revealed that a number of charity workers and mental health service users were among the audience.

It’s all very worthy, this desire to improve empathy. But is it funny? When I went along to find out, I realised I’d never seen anything like it before – and judging by the nervous atmosphere during the first half, neither had the rest of the audience. But any anxieties were assuaged by the compere: Ryan was personable and accessible, yet mischievous and willing to push boundaries. Once the audience realised what was going on, second-half laughs came easily and heartily. It felt inclusive and empowering.

Gareth Berliner has Crohn’s disease, and appears on stage with what must surely be a comedy first: a backpack containing a pump, which is connected directly to his heart. Undoing the valve, Berliner cheerfully related, would result in his swift and bloody death. He then told us about his botched suicide attempt. While fascinating in a morbid way, this is hardly a laughing matter. But on Monday night, delivered in Berliner’s twinkling style, it was a killer gag. In fact, it’s a good example of the obstacles the show faces: while mental health is still a hard sell, it needs to be pricked, laughed at, normalised – and ultimately accepted.

Cracking Up! proves that a comedy show about mental health can be hilarious. It’s a relief to see an agenda-led project, which mixes arts with education, deliver its message without preaching. But once it has raised its issues, the question is whether people are willing to face them head-on.

Of course don’t just take our word for it. Watch the clip now.

Enquire regarding Geoff Norcott for TV/Radio/Film or Stand-up Work Here | View Geoff Norcott’s Biog