Comedy Review: Shazia Mirza's Coconut Tour

Before we went to review Coconut, my plus-one offered some sage words about stand-up comedy generally: ‘If it’s good, I’m happy. If it’s bad, I’m happy. If it’s mediocre, I don’t want to see it.’ Whilst this may seem initially counterintuitive, it actually makes a lot of sense. Whether what you are watching ends up being greatly impressive or an absolute car crash, it will be entertaining. However, if neither of the extreme ends of the spectrum are met, the whole thing ultimately falls flat. Clearly, stand-up comedy is a challenging skill that few seem to get right, but award-winning British Asian Muslim comedian Shazia Mirza has found the key to this enigma.

As a born and bred Brummie, Mirza appeared to be right at home on The Old Rep stage

As a born and bred Brummie, Mirza appeared to be right at home on The Old Rep stage – perhaps even a little bit too comfortable, given that she consistently criticised the theatre for being so cold! Nevertheless, the setting was clearly a deliberate choice on her behalf. Constructed in 1913 as the United Kingdom’s first-ever purpose-built repertory theatre, the Old Rep is over a century old, meaning it does not have the same modern technology or audience capacity as its competitors, such as The Hippodrome or the Birmingham Rep. Therefore, Mirza’s decision to host her tour at the Old Rep specifically over other venues was indicative of two things. First, it was an anti-capitalist statement against the over-commercialisation of the arts, which allowed her to save and provide business for one of the older and less-utilised historical institutions of Birmingham. Secondly, it allowed her to be a lot more intimate with her audience because we were sitting so much closer to the stage than you would be able to in comparison to other theatres.

Mirza most definitely used this to her advantage in the first half of the evening. Immediately, she asked for the lights to be up so she could eye up her audience members carefully, who turned out to be the victims of the punchlines to her ruthless jokes. For example, in a room that was predominantly packed with South Asians, it was surprising to see a Caucasian couple sitting on the second row, and in her quick-witted manner, Mirza was able to make light of this by labelling the pair as her ‘Guardian readers’ who shop at Waitrose and live in Harborne (a notoriously wealthy area in Birmingham). In contrast to this, she was not afraid to call out the various duos of non-white men in the audience as homosexuals, despite them claiming to have wives and kids. Mirza did not hold back. Shock-factor themes surrounding masturbation, religion, adultery, polygamy and sexism were blended together to form a whirlwind of destruction that stripped back any decency and decorum previously present.

Shock-factor themes surrounding masturbation, religion, adultery, polygamy and sexism were blended together to form a whirlwind of destruction

Yet indeed, this was just the beginning of Mirza’s set. Whilst it could be argued that her hilarious bluntness in the first half was not too much of an issue because she had primarily directed it at guests she already knew – several of her friends were supporting her in the audience, including her solicitor – there were no excuses to hide behind in the second half. In an interview conducted prior to this event by culture writer Sonny Elliott, Mirza was quoted as saying: ‘I’m a comedian. I believe in freedom of speech. The thing is I’ve made jokes about 9/11, things that people might be upset by, might be offended by, to some people the things I’ve said aren’t acceptable.’ As someone who quite likes to value themselves as being politically correct, I was slightly concerned by this statement, and there were moments during the latter part of the show where I felt slightly uncomfortable, such as mentions of the trans and non-binary community. However, on the whole, the dark comedy was brutally brilliant. Discussing a variety of relevant news topics from Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse lawsuit to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mirza managed to tiptoe on the tightrope of a line between humour and hatred rather fearlessly.

Mirza managed to tiptoe on the tightrope of a line between humour and hatred rather fearlessly

Unfortunately, the ending of the night came around swiftly, as Mirza did not want to receive a ticket for her parking. As she scurried off stage in her black puffer jacket and gloves (which she had put on during the interval to battle the chilly breeze inside the theatre), the audience was still full of hollow echoes of laughter. Undeniably, Mirza had fulfilled her task as a stand-up comedian, and not in the car crash way. The show was not bad, and it certainly was not mediocre – it was excellent.