Urooj Ashfaq is on cloud nine. It has been about a week since this Mumbai-based stand-up comedian won the Best Newcomer Award for her show ‘Oh No!’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “The news has finally sunk in!” exclaims the 28-year-old over a call from Rome. “The award is an encouragement to do better,” she adds.
The first India-based comedian to win the award in its 40-year history and the first comedian of South Asian origin to win it since 1997, Urooj’s jokes draw on her personal stories and experiences. In Oh No!, a 60-minute taboo-breaking act produced by Soho Theatre in association with OML, she reflects on cultural differences, her experiences with therapy and her parents’ divorce.
