From comedy class to Edinburgh Fringe, a Dubai resident's journey to the global stage

Sunil Mashari will be having two shows at the world-renowned performance arts festival

Sunil Mashari will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with two other Dubai-based comics. Photo: Sunil Mashari

For as long as he can remember, Sunil Mashari has enjoyed making people laugh. But being a stand-up comedian was never part of his plan – until he came across an Instagram ad in Dubai for a comedy course.

And now, only a year later, the British-Indian is making his debut at one of the largest performance arts festivals in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

“It's an honour and a pleasure to be performing there,” Mashari tells The National. “It's all about putting UAE comedy on the map.

"We've got a burgeoning scene here. I'm really proud to be a representative of that, alongside my colleagues who I'm performing with.”

Mashari is doing two shows at the event. The first one, Dark Times with Sunny Moments, is a stand-up performance in collaboration with another Dubai resident, Sadiq Saboowala.

Saboowala launched the concept in Dubai, where he turns dark themes into comedy material.

Mashari will join the stage later, adding the “sunny” element to the show, with his own brand of humour which he describes as larger than life but also relatable.

“I've got a lot of energy. I'm naturally a larger-than-life character, and I really try to dominate the stage with my presence,” he says.

“I do a lot of anecdotal stuff about my history, my past and I find menial things that everyone knows about, relatable topics, and create humour out of them.

"There's a lot of singing, a lot of flamboyant language. I'm very flamboyant in my nature.”

Mashari’s second show, All My Friends are Jealous, is also a collaboration with another comedian from Dubai, Sahar Ali.

Inspired by their podcast of the same name, the show is based on the seven deadly sins, and will feature improvisation and games with the audience, as well as interviews with some of the comics from the festival who will be interviewed by Mashari and Ali.

Collaborating with friends and doing something you love, Mashari says, is part of the appeal of performing at Fringe.

“I don't have lofty ambitions in comedy, I just really enjoy doing it, I get a kick out of it and I’m really passionate about it,” he says.

“The opportunity to do your own show and showcase your hard work and what you've done and the concept that you've created … there's an element of pride there and of achievement.”

Mashari never dreamt of being a comedian but says that as a child growing up in the UK he was always surrounded by comedy.

His father was the “joker of his friend group” and had a collection of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly’s tapes that he would sneak into his room and watch.

As a teenager, Mashari watched a lot of Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Chris Rock, who he says are his comedic heroes.

“It's a very subjective thing, being funny,” he says.

“Everybody always wants to be liked, and everybody always wants to be revered in some nature. And I try and do that, try and be liked through being funny.

"My friends have always found me funny, and I've thought I can always alleviate tension by using humour and levity.”

Mashari, who heads marketing and communications for a consulting firm in Dubai, only started to take comedy seriously after doing a five-week comedy course led by the UAE based comedian, Imah Dumagay.

It was an educational experience, Mashari says, where he learnt the technical aspects of comedy.

“I didn't realise that there was a structure and a way to be funny, and that you can put a framework around being funny,” he says.

“I learnt about the art of the premise, the art of the punchline, the art of punching the double punch, the art of anecdotal storytelling. I learnt the art of writing as well.”

Since the course, Mashari has performed in a number of comedy shows, his first in Dubai in June of last year at a venue called PubG, followed by his first performance in London at a venue called We Are The Funny Project.

The pay-off for his work over the last year and what he hopes to achieve at Fringe, is to simply entertain people, he says.

“When you're on that stage and you see the joy you're bringing people, even if it's in a small five-minute set, or if I've done half an hour sets, there is a certain joy in seeing people enjoying themselves,” Mashari says.

“I really enjoy that concept that I can take someone away from their mundane, day-to-day life, even if it's for five short minutes, and make them forget about their worries for a split moment."

Sunil Mashari’s Dark Times with Sunny Moments with Sadiq Saboowala will be running at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 13-25, while his second show, All My Friends are Jealous, with Sahar Ali, will run from August 12-25.