Shazia Mirza has been to Sweden several times before. At the beginning of her career, Sweden was among the first places she visited outside of the UK. Since then, she has toured here several times and performed on Swedish TV.
But you can't talk about a typical Swedish audience, she thinks.
People are so different in different places. In Umeå, there were loads of students. At a smaller place, Kristianstad or Karlskrona, I did a show where it was full of farmers and I had to go on at six in the evening because people needed to go home and go to bed early.
But I also think that Swedes are very open. They speak good English and they are really interested in the world.
"One of very few"
When she returns this time, it's in the company of several colleagues – Yasmin Elhady, Ola Labib, Fathiya Saleh, and Zain Shami. They have toured together before and when they come to Stockholm, it will be under the name "Funny & fearless – muslim women stand-up", which takes place on December 20 at Maxim in Stockholm.
When I started as a comedian 15 years ago, I was the only Muslim female comedian in the UK, and one of very few in the world. Being able to do a concept like this was not even in my wildest fantasy, says Shazia Mirza.
Mixed group
Performing together also challenges Western prejudices about what a Muslim woman can be, Mirza believes. But she also emphasizes how different they are. They are different types of comedians, with different types of jokes, with different backgrounds. Mirza describes them as "a Muslim Spice Girls, where there's something for everyone".
When they have toured in the UK before, the audience has almost only consisted of women.
Then they are much more open and more comfortable laughing without pressure. They don't worry about whether their husband is doing well or not and just let loose, she says.
Stand-up show, coming to Maxim in Stockholm on December 20, with:
Shazia Mirza – British comedian with Pakistani roots. Has performed a lot in Sweden, including at the Lund Comedy Festival.
Yasmin Elhady – American comedian and lawyer with Egyptian and Libyan origins who has performed at The Kennedy Center and NBC.
Ola Labib – British comedian with roots in Sudan. The first black, Muslim woman to perform at O2 Arena in London.
Fathiya Saleh – British comedian with Somali-Yemeni background, has among other things participated in BBC Asian Network Comedy Special.
Zain Shami – American with Iraqi parents and one of the first hijab-wearing comedians in the world. Known from several TV programs and films.
Also participating are the Swedish comedians Zinat Pirzadeh, Melody Farshin, and Nisti Stêrk. The latter is also the host and producer.
