Despite the protestations of her family, famed Muslim comic Shazia Mirza drops into the Roundhouse for four gigs at the Camden Fringe. You see, Mirza's parents would much prefer that she was a doctor or married at home and kept under wraps. Which is, funnily enough, how the 34-year-old made her break, technically speaking: performing in hijab dress and making jokes about her pilot licence in the wake of 9/11. Notoriety followed for the "quite unique" Mirza (The Guardian), who soon ditched her job as a teacher to concentrate on breaking down cultural barriers through the medium of stand-up. Almost a decade on, however, her frank and honest routine about what it's like being a young Muslim woman seems to be losing its topicality, and it remains to be seen if she can adapt on stage as she has off (Mirza is now an award-winning columnist at the New Statesman). Still, her laconic one-liners should keep momentum going - and anyone who dares to make anal sex jokes in front of sell-out crowds in Pakistan deserves our attention. This new show - A Portrait of Shazia Mirza - includes stories about her portrait being hung in the National Portrait Gallery.
Steve Hughes, Carl Donnelly & Pete Johansson
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11th November 2009
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Arch 65,
The Catacombs,Stables Market,Camden Town,
London,
NW1Map
3 minutes walk from Camden Fringe: Shazia Mirza
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Despite the protestations of her family, famed Muslim comic Shazia Mirza drops into the 
