ROBIN Tran describes herself as an agoraphobic introvert.
“It’s hard for me to leave the house, or the hotel. If I could just teleport from my bed to the stage, my life would be perfect,” the US-based comedian told The National.
“I kind of got successful by accident,” she added.
In 2018, Tran appeared on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle and wrote for Netflix’s ‘Historical Roasts’. She also recently performed on That’s My Time with David Letterman.
But she’s never been to the Edinburgh Fringe – or even the UK – before and will be performing at the Assembly George Square from 2 August with her new show, Don’t Look At Me.
“People have been more excited about me going to Fringe than anything else I've done in comedy… And I kind of need that validation,” she joked.
As for her show – it’s about gender, race, and transphobia. It’s dark, but it’s also about hope.
She said: “I had this great hour of jokes that I had been working on for a year and then I ran out of time during one of my shows in Los Angeles, and for the extra 10 minutes I started delving deeper into the worst three years of my life, and it became the funniest and saddest part of my set.
“A light bulb went off and we figured that this show could be a more elevated experience.”
TAn Asian transgender lesbian who grew up poor, Tran has struggled with depression her whole life.
She said: “I had a lot of hurdles in my life, having to deal with racism and transphobia and homophobia and poverty and mental illness.
“I talk about how I have moved past all those hurdles, and how I'm a really happy person now. The past three years have been the best three years of my entire life.”
She added: “The message of my show is just like there's a lot of darkness in the world and I don't hide from the darkness.”
Of course, it is a comedy show too. And Robin says that she wants to make her audience “laugh at terrible things”.
Tran is also keen to stress that while her experience as a trans woman features in the show, she is also “bored of being trans”.
She said: “I don't think it's that interesting to me, but I do recognize that it's interesting to practically everybody else so I like to play with that expectation.
“I feel like being trans is the least interesting thing about me.”
As for Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which was blocked by the UK Government in January, Tran said: “I'm probably the worst person to ask about this.
“I'm never gonna get any kind of surgery. I haven't changed my legal name. I almost resent the notion that the government has to validate my gender.
“Everyone talks about biology and sociology but no one talks about history. What matters more is that trans people have existed for hundreds of years.
“You can't kill transgenderism. No matter what happens with these bills, trans people are still gonna exist, no matter what the government or people say. They're on the wrong side of history.
“Don't let anyone take that away from you.”
Robin Tran’s debut stand up show ‘Don’t Look At Me’ is at Assembly George Square: The Box at 6.25pm 2nd – 27th August (except 15th). For tickets, go to www.edfringe.com
