Interview raises Mirza's US profile

Muslim stand-up Shazia Mirza has been given a huge profile in today's New York Times magazine.

The 3,000-word piece - headlined Did You Hear The One About The Suicide Bomber - is almost unheard-of for such a relatively unknown British comic.

It investigates the conflict between Mirza's faith and her comedy following her appearances in two New York comedy clubs.

She describes one gig in the fashionable Luna Lounge as "a complete disaster", and even though her set at the more mainstream Comic Strip was more successful, one punter walked out. It's thought he had lost a sister in the World Trade Centre attack.

Journalist Marshal Sella also followed Mirza to London to interview her, watch her perform and visit her East End home.

And Mirza makes no secret of her ambitions to become a transatlantic set. ''I keep telling my manager that I'm going to conquer America,'' she says. ''I want to be the face of Revlon! Anything lucrative! Wouldn't that be great?''

The interview is the latest in a long list of international press stories about Mirza, including articles in Elle, Le Monde, India Today, The Sun and the San Francisco Chronicle.

To read the New York Times feature

Published: 14 Jun 2003