Bilal Zafar
Born (1991-10-16) 16 October 1991
MediumStand-up comedy
NationalityBritish
Years active2013–present
GenresObservational humour, Satire
Subject(s)Islamophobia, Racism, Cakes
Websitewww.bilalzafarcomedy.com

Bilal Zafar (born 16 October 1991) is a British comedian who won the New Act of The Year Award (NATY) in 2016[1] and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in the same year.[2] He has written for The Independent[3] and The Guardian.[4]

Personal life

Zafar is from Wanstead, London, and he studied at Wanstead High School before moving to Manchester to study screenwriting at The University of Bolton.[5][6] He worked part-time as a concierge and a care assistant while living in Manchester.[7] Zafar moved back to London in January 2016.[5]

Career

Zafar began performing stand-up comedy in his final year of university in 2013 and is best known for performing material about racism and islamophobia. He cites Simon Amstell and Chris Morris as influences.[5]

In 2015, Zafar was runner-up in the New Comedian of the Year competition run by Leicester Square Theatre.[8][9] The following year he won first prize at the NATYS Awards in London at the same venue.[10][11]

Described as a "wry storyteller",[10] Zafar appeared on the BBC Asian Network's Comedy Show in 2016 and 2017.[12] He has also appeared on BBC Radio Four's Loose Ends[13] and presented one of the station's Stand-Up Specials.[14]

Since 2020 Zafar has attracted a large regular audience and gained the status of Partner for his channel on live-streaming platform Twitch, where he portrays the manager of a football team within the videogame Pro Evolution Soccer 5. The manager character frequently engages his audience of “assistant managers” whose participation in the stream’s chat room and enthusiasm for in-jokes Zafar encourages.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Venables, Ben (1 February 2016). "Londoners Take The Cake At New Acts Of The Year Showcase". London: Londonist. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Bilal Zafar: Cakes". Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Bilal Zafar articles". The Independent. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Zafar, Bilal (29 July 2017). "Bilal Zafar: An Asian Don't Tell The Bride? Don't get me started". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Enfield, Laura (28 January 2016). "The Wanstead comedian tackling Islamaphobia one joke at a time". London: Newsquest. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Nair, Ajay (12 February 2016). "Prize win icing on cake for Wanstead comedian combatting Islamophobia". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Maguire, Samar (31 July 2014). "Interview with Bilal Zafar". Edinburgh: Samar Maguire. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "New Comedian of the Year". London: Leicester Square Theatre. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Bennett, Steve (30 November 2015). "Leicester Square New Comedian Of The Year 2015". Chortle. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  10. 1 2 Bennett, Steve (1 February 2016). "Naty New Act Of The Year final 2016". Chortle. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Dessau, Bruce (31 January 2016). "News: New Acts of the Year 2016 Results". London: Beyond The Joke. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Asian Network Comedy - 5 hilarious moments from Asian Network Comedy in Wolverhampton - BBC Asian Network". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Presenter: Clive Anderson; Participant: Bilal Zafar; Producer: Producer: Sukey Firth (28 January 2017). "Loose Ends: Mark Thomas, Vicky McClure, Ken Hom, Bilal Zafar, Sampha, Loyle Carner, Scottee, Clive Anderson". Loose Ends. 29:40 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio Four. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Writer and Performer: Bilal Zafar; Additional Material: Glenn Moore; Producer: Daisy Knight (6 May 2018). "Stand-Up Specials: Bilal Zafar's British Muslim Love". Stand-Up Specials. BBC. BBC Radio Four. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Zafar, Bilal (30 June 2020). "As a kid I loved Pro Evolution Soccer 5 – now it's won me a new comedy audience | Bilal Zafar". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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