I’ve always vaguely avoided musical stand-up, unsure if I would enjoy it, but I decided to try Leila Navabi’s debut hour to see if my mind could be changed. And wow, was it changed.
Navabi’s stunning debut hour covers a great variety of topics, managing to be deeply touching and laugh-out-loud hilarious at the same time. Navabi explores and discusses how her multiple intersecting minority identities have impacted her life and career so far, but she emphasises how she doesn’t want this to be all she talks about.
Navabi uses an array of talents to express her frustration at how these minority identities are used to target or criticise her. This may sound heavy, difficult or unenjoyable, but while it is heavy, and at times difficult to listen to, it is never unenjoyable.
The main narrative of the show discusses Navabi’s rise and journey to become the stand up comedian she is today. This started when a rap she wrote about potatoes went viral, which led to a call from BBC Wales, which led to a joke about Rishi Sunak that Navabi was told only she could make because of her race.
The journey this leads her on is interesting and impressive – most of Navabi’s material has previously been produced during lockdowns; she hasn’t done a vast amount of stand up. Navabi is still young and is undoubtedly a quickly rising star in the comedy world – something she expressed some discomfort with, already worn down and tired of some elements of this comedy world she now has almost accidentally begun to inhabit.
Navabi is fun, silly, in her own words ‘impish’, the sort of comic she says she would be if not for the identities she is forced to discuss. She is also immensely vulnerable. But despite sharing such vulnerable sides of herself, she remains a confident and clear presence on stage. Navabi manages to share some serious and deep revelations with the audience, but her jokes always hit the mark.
Similarly, the songs are a real highlight – my favourite being the ballad about her love for the girl who pierced her ears at Claire’s Accessories. My only let down was that Navabi had run out of the matching badges.
Leila Navabi: Composition is at Pleasance Courtyard – The Attic at 9.45pm until 27 August.
Image provided to The Student as press material.
