Mirza

I saw Shazia Mirza perform november 7 . Her show was a mixed bag. some jokes were writhing on the floor gasping for a breathe of comedic air. Some jokes were spot-on. I particularly like that she talked about positive discrimination. that was new. most comedians who are banking on their "outsider" status don't talk about this face of discrimination. it was fun until she started getting frustrated and began explaining the jokes to the people sitting up front who were looking at her blankly when she said, "clearly the staff at buckingham palace is all gay considering they walked around with trays of champagne and poppers." a woman up front smiled sweetly as she let the joke go over her head. but ms. mirza, sweating and cranky from the mumbai heat and "indian" disorganisation, didnt let it go. she turned to the woman and said, "do you know what poppers are? it's a_____ nitrate --pill gay men take before they have anal sex." the recovery flopped because the frustration in her tone overrode the sarcy-banter-with-the-crowd quality she attempted to maintain. she also had notes that she kept referring too and she clearly memorised her routine but once too often she would lose her train of thought or her flow and repeat a line she had just said, which made it v.clear that she was trying to recall how the next secion of her act goes.