British Comedian Hits The US Stage

BBC News, New York

March 15, 2006

By Kiran Bharthapudi

When comedian Shazia Mirza began her recent performance on a very cold evening in New York city, her opening lines did not receive instant applause or laughter. The audience just looked at each other with shock and uneasiness, unsure whether it was okay to laugh at what they were hearing.

"I can't believe this is America. You've watched comedy before, haven't you? You've been out of house before, haven't you? Why are you acting like its 1944?" she joked, urging her audience to lighten up.

Ms Mirza was performing at a business conference in midtown Manhattan for an audience of more than 350 South Asian women dressed in black business suits.

"Lot of these Asian women, they never watched comedy before; they were surprised to see me, they just wanted to look at me, but eventually it seemed they enjoyed," she says reflecting on a rare exclusive performance for an audience who were also women from the same ethnic background as herself.

More:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4803044.stm