Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes has always been a hard worker. When she was studying for a law degree, she had four part-time jobs to pay her way through college including teaching dance and selling bras. One job happened to be behind a bar in a comedy club and when her boss overheard her funny conversations said she should try stand-up. It was the best career advice she has ever received.
Initially she used her nickname ‘Twix’ onstage but she was a BBC New Comedy Award finalist in 2017 and it sounded like she was advertising a chocolate bar, so she switched to using just Sikisa. One name didn’t do Adele any harm.
The chatty thirtysomething, who was born in London but spent her early years in Barbados before returning, still serves behind the bar at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell near her home, while also working as an immigration lawyer. She is using her holiday allowance to make her debut at the Edinburgh Fringe this August. “I’ll start back on September 1. Like, give me the two days off,” she laughs when we meet in the pub.
“I’ve always had more than one job,” she continues. “Sometimes my brain just goes, ‘We need to do this’, while my body says, ‘Can we just sleep?’ The question most people ask me is, ‘Do I actually sleep?’ And I do, just not very much!”
Her mother sounds like a particularly strong influence. "She always wanted to show off that I was a doctor or lawyer." On stage she paints a picture of her mother as devoted, if slightly dotty when it comes to modern technology: “She’s one of the people who will send me a WhatsApp then call me straight after to tell me she’s sent a WhatsApp.”
Sikisa’s Life of the Party, which previews at Soho Theatre this week, mixes autobiography and social commentary. The stage will be transformed into her dream celebration, as she draws verbal pictures of friends, family and the people she meets out and about in south London. “I love Brixton. I can get my nails done, I can get my hair done, I can get my fruit and vegetables, I can see my cousins. All in one shop.”
To see her onstage in full flow, barely pausing for breath as she talks about topics as varied as dick pics and the British Citizenship Test, it is surprising to discover that she gets nervous before gigs. “I have to get into a mindset where I’m like, ‘You know what you’re doing, you’ve got confidence, let’s do it’, a Beyonce or Lizzo vibe. I listen to some music to get myself pumped up to get on stage."
The show reveals that there are many facets to this instinctively humorous storyteller with stage presence to burn. Life is full of contrasts. It is not always a party. Bostwick-Barnes is passionate about justice, but the way her stage career is shaping up she is going to have to make a choice soon.
“I actually probably earn more money in comedy than I do in my legal job. But I don’t do it for the money. I do it because I realised that’s how some people need help. I probably could have given up a year ago. But I also have this mentality of always working. It’s going to be weird if I just have one job.“
It will be tough when she closes her legal files. “I’m always trying to work. I think that’s because I grew up on a council estate. I just wanted to give myself a better life. I didn’t want to be struggling. And I know from the job that I do that my clients struggle. So I’m also working to try and help them.”
The job is clearly an emotionally demanding one. “Immigration is so broad. You’ve got asylum cases where people are coming over here, because they’re in genuine fear of their life, and they can’t return back to their home country. In some cases, it’s about life or death. And it’s in your hands.”
Bostwick-Barnes is well-positioned to comment on Home Secretary Priti Patel’s controversial Rwanda policy with her firm having worked on a number of cases: “I understand why we have to have immigration rules. But there are certain things that just don’t make sense, and this is one of them. It’s a lot of money for taxpayers. And morally it doesn’t make sense. And since Brexit, it’s been at a point where I’m starting to lose faith in how fairness is going to happen.”
She is particularly concerned about the potential changes to human rights in the UK. “I’ve seen drafts of suggestions of changes and it’s quite scary.” She certainly doesn’t expect Patel to back down on the policy without a fight. “I think she wants to get them on the plane however much it costs.”
We are talking just before the recent Westminster turmoil, but Bostwick-Barnes does not think things would be dramatically different even if there is a change of Home Secretary. “If Priti wasn’t there, it would be someone else."
She tries to see the positive side of everyone. “I don’t think anyone is a bad person. I think people are placed in a situation where they have to do their job. I don’t even think some criminals are bad people. I just think sometimes you’ve got to think about their backgrounds and how they’ve been brought up.”
While there are stark contrasts between her two main jobs there are also uncanny similarities. “Both are about forming relationships. You need audiences to trust you and you need your clients to trust you. I can only do the best I can with my abilities when it comes to immigration cases and also with comedy.”
The comedy world’s gain may soon be immigration law’s loss. "Ultimately, I want everyone to have a good time. I just want to make people smile. And even if they don’t like something that I say, I hope they understand why I’m saying it.”
