Shappi Khorsandi’s Journey in Comedy: A Focus on Ealing Roots and Success

Brought to you by:

Sam Habeeb

"Shadow MP Campaigner of Ealing North"

Shappi Khorsandi's Journey in Comedy: A Focus on Ealing Roots and Success
Credit: The arts desk

Shaparak Khorsandi (8 June 1973), previously known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and writer. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family moved to the United Kingdom from Iran after the 1979 revolution, and she often draws on her Iranian roots and responses to them in her stand-up comedy. Khorsandi became a national figure following her 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Show, Asylum Speaker.

Early Life and Education

Shaparak Khorsandi was born on 8 June 1973 in Tehran. Her parents were Fatemah and the satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. The family fled Iran to London after the Islamic Revolution after her father made a joke that was seen as critical of the revolutionary regime. Khorsandi graduated in 1995 from King Alfred’s College, now the University of Winchester, with a degree in drama, theatre, and television. After graduating, she worked in various roles such as community theatre and a sandwich shop, phone fundraiser, and nude life model while starting as a stand-up comedian. In 2010 the university graduated her with an honorary doctorate.

Why did Shappi Khorsandi change her name?

After people mocked and mispronounced her full name as a child, she chose to be known by the shortened form “Shappi” from age 16, but then she felt this was an effort “to bend in a direction which would make my foreignness more comfortable for other people” and instead reverted to her full name.

Who is Mark Steel’s girlfriend?

He was married to Natasha Steel until 2016. In 2022 he was dating fellow comedian Shaparak Khorsandi and has described their relationship as “always entwined.”. In October 2023, Steel stated that he was undergoing surgery following a diagnosis of throat cancer.

Who is the female comedian with the ADHD book?

Comedian Shaparak Khorsandi talked about her ADHD and her book “Scatterbrain

From which origin is the name Khorsandi?

Khorsandi is a Persian surname, Iranian.

Who is Shappi Khorsandi married to?

In 2005, she married fellow comedian Christian Reilly, and they had a son together before divorcing in 2011. Her daughter was born in June 2013; the following year she told an interviewer that they were not in contact with the girl’s father, “But that’s fine; I’m not angry or bitter about it.” As of 2022, she was in a relationship with fellow comedian Mark Steel.

Which Religion Does Shappi Khorsandi Follow?

Khorsandi was raised without any religion and identifies as an atheist. She later became a patron of Humanists UK, which appointed her as its president for a three-year term beginning in January 2016, succeeding Jim Al-Khalili. She became a vice president of the organization in 2019, a role she retained as of 2023. In 2017, she came out as bisexual and wrote that she had gone on marches in support of gay rights since she was 17, “Despite all those years of marching and getting drunk at Pride, officially coming ‘out’ as bisexual seemed like too much of a fuss.” Khorsandi was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age 47, which she discussed in a 2023 autobiography.

Famous Book: Beginner’s Guide to Acting English

Khorsandi’s memoir, A Beginner’s Guide to Acting English, was published by Ebury Press in 2009. The book describes how she experienced England as a young girl. The narrative begins with her attending The Kings’ International Nursery School with her brother Peyvand. Throughout the book, she explains how the Persian language differs from English: “They called me ‘poppet.’. Iranians said ‘jaan’ or ‘azizam.’. Other themes include her experiences with English food and customs. Historian Sharif Gemme felt that “while one can hear her distinctive, resonant voice reaching the punchlines at the end of the paragraphs, the final result is not impressive: neither particularly amusing nor genuinely observant.”

Second Book: Nina is Not OK

Her second book, the first novel ever, was Nina is Not OK, released in 2016. This is her work with an underage heroine having to deal with alcoholic abuse; she was also shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize, a new literary prize set up especially for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic writers. However, she requested that it be taken out of contention; she said of the book in one interview, “For once in my career I’d done something not about identity, and I get a sticker for being brown. In 2021, Khorsandi published a young adult novel of fiction titled Kissing Emma, based on the life of Emma Hamilton. Her autobiographical work Scatter Brain (2023) is subtitled How I Finally Got off the ADHD Rollercoaster and Became the Owner of a Very Tidy Sock Drawer.

Career in Comedy

Khorsandi is a stand-up comedian who performed at Joe Wilson’s Comedy Madhouse in 1997. She often discusses her Iranian heritage and responses to her comedy routines. In 2000, she was a runner-up for the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, and William Cook of the Guardian described her “feisty self-mockery” as “refreshing, with something new to say and a new way of saying it.”. She made her debut that summer performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the three-person show Pablo Diablo’s Cryptic Triptych, sharing the stage between ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Russell Brand. She was shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award that same year.

Appearance at the Melbourne Comedy Festival

In 2007, Khorsandi went to Australia and performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. After that, she was shortlisted for best breakthrough act at the 2007 Chortle Awards. In 2008, Khorsandi was one of the acts at The Secret Policeman’s Ball show for Amnesty International; writing in 2021, she reflected that the appearance “led to regular TV bookings, including Live at the Apollo.

Her BBC Radio 4 program Shappi Talk (2009) had four themed episodes, each with comedy routines relating to her early life in the UK; the themes were racism, unconventional parents, religion, and growing up. The program included guests like Meera Syal.

In The Times, Chris Campling praised Khorsandi as “very funny” and described the show as addressing issues in a way that was “no mere retread of her general stand-up routine.”. Trevor Lewis of the Sunday Times called it “A comedy treat. Her second series, which explored themes of divorce, addiction, history, and politics, aired in 2010.

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Brought to you by:

Sam Habeeb

"Shadow MP Campaigner of Ealing North"

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