Comedy with an Accent

Live at the Apollo star Esther Manito started performing stand up comedy only as recently as 2016 - not to forget we should probably count two years out because of the pandemic. The ex teacher has since brought two critically claimed solo shows (Crusade, #NotAllMen) to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and become the first female comedian to perform at Dubai Opera House.

Describing herself as an "Essex Arab Girl Comedian", Esther is in her own words a chameleon of accents having grown up between mixed and sometimes clashing cultures and social classes. Between an Arabic-speaking Lebanese father and a Geordie mother who switched to a southern English accent at home, Esther nevertheless wears the badge of her distinct Essex accent with pride.

This is the first episode to feature a distinct British regional accent. The Essex accent has an endearing nature but carries the social connotations of being thick and unsophiscated, best embodied by the all-time guilty pleasure reality TV show The Only Way is Essex.

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Follow Esther on Instagram or Twitter

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

Esther's hilarious podcast with comedian Lily Phillips: Ghastly Women

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Esther started performing stand up comedy as a young mother after she just gave birth to her second child. If you are interested in how Esther balances her family life whilst switching career as a comedian, there is a great episode on the Parenting Hell Podcast by Josh Widdecombe and Rob Beckett. Also recommended is the interview by comedian Cally Beaton on her podcast Namaste Motherfxxker.

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Episode timeline

00:57 Intro

01:48 First British regional accent featured on this podcast

03:12 A variety of Essex accents

05:17 A chameleon of accents - Esther’s mixed heritage

10:45 What the Essex accent makes Esther feel as opposed to a Posh British accent

12:43 The evolution of the modern Essex accent

13:42 Quirky examples of an Essex accent

19:03 Definition of a “chav”

20:37 Comedy and social classes in the UK - made more complicated by misperceptions of regional accents

23:10 Double standards applied to comedians with different accents on swearing

25:28 Fetishisation of “working class”

28:39 An outsider in her own home town

31:01 Ranting on stage and a comedic voice of “tiredness” of being a mum/wife/woman

34:49 Two funny arguments between Esther and her husband

38:00 A hardworking comedian that balances the life as a mother with young children

40:21 Discriminatory treatment of women in Kuan-wen's extended family

41:54 The name “Manito” and Esther’s maiden name

42:50 When English polite manner only confuses Esther’s Lebanese relatives

46:22 Esther’s social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

For the avoidance of doubt, President Obonjo is a comedy character created by Anglo-Nigerian comedian Benjamin Bankelo Bello.

In clear contrast to the brash, uber-confident and larger-than-life self-appointed African dictator in exile who speaks with a thick African accent, the comedian Benjamin Bankelo Bello is a soft-spoken, suburban Englishman who often wears a cardigan on top of his shirt.

Benjamin has stormed his way on to the British comedy circuit as President Obonjo for more than a decade. So convincing is this character that some gullible punters actually believe The Lafta Republic does exist. That is until someone who never got the joke "ousted" him on TikTok.

Benjamin recently started to perform stand up comedy as himself - a process which he describes as his "therapy" as a "recovering character comedian" - and explained to your host Kuan-wen why the character President Obonjo was created in the first place. The character was based on Benjamin's real life experiences rather than just a whim. When Kuan-wen and Benjamin discuss how and why what accent is used, it traces back to Benjamin's personal history, with the untangling of British Empire as the backdrop. You also can't help but wonder that as President Obonjo comes so alive, maybe … sometimes it is he who is in charge?

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Follow President Obonjo on Instagram

Follow Benjamin as a stand up comedian himself on Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

If you like the podcast, please like this episode and either follow or subscribe on the platform you use. You can also leave any comments on the podcast's instagram page or. email [email protected]

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Episode timeline

01:11 Intro

06:18 Moving between Nigeria and the UK

08:51 Brought up speaking English as first language in Nigeria

11:17 Benjamin's accent shift after arriving in the UK

14:58 A conscious efforts by other friends to keep their African accent(s)

17:41 Does Benjamin sound British or African?

19:44 Unable to switch off the character or switch between accents

21:30 Differences between stand up and character comedy

25:46 THERE IS NO LAFTA REPUBLIC

28:01 Creation of a dictator character based on real life experiences and extensive research

35:33 Performing to Nigerian audiences and at Black circuit gigs

40:19 Mocking Chinese accent and stereotypes at black circuit gigs

44:14 Benjamin and President Obonjo's social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Fresh from winning the LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year in the UK, Victoria was featured in the Guardian (See link to the article) a month after this podcast episode was recorded. Her unique brand of humour is best illustrated by the joke quoted in the Guardian interview, in a love poem to the former Home Secretary in the UK Priti Patel, "I wish I was the Falkland Islands, so you can occupy me indefinitely against International Law."

Outside comedy, Victoria remains a successful business entrepreneur and a SEO specialist.

Victoria talks about how she has to make do with the very limited understanding of her home country when performing in the UK and how she set foot on the comedy path from a corporate career in the financial sector. Kuan-wen also discusses with Victoria how her deadpan and precise style of comedy delivery may be a by-product of her not being as proficient in English as opposed to her mother tongue Spanish.

See Victoria on stage

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Follow Victoria on Instagram or Twitter

Follow host Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

If you like the podcast, please like this episode and either follow or subscribe on the platform you use. You can also leave any comments on the podcast's instagram page or. email [email protected]

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Episode timeline

00:52 Intro

02:51 Greetings in Argentinian Spanish

03:16 "Latin America" v. "South America"/"North America" v. "Americans"

05:29 Falkland Islands - Islas Malvinas

07:11 "I sound like a scam!"

11:11 Former life as a miserable corporate robot (see the corporate robot video Kuan-wen refers to)

13:49 Speaking at a corporate event led to suggestion of a go at comedy

20:06 Argentina in Wong Kar Wai's "Happy Together"

20:54 British people's limited understanding of Argentina and the stereotypes

23:30 Tango

27:45 Victoria's stage presence v. her accent

31:28 Different personas in Spanish and in English

34:50 The importance of addressing her foreignness at the start of a gig

37:04 Is Victoria white?

41:13 Buzz Lightyear's Spanish-speaking mode in Toy Story III

42:47 Between Katherine Ryan & Tig Notaro

45:16 Victoria's social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

The very first German speaker invited to this podcast is not from Germany, but from Austria - a relatively small country that produced a range of household names from Mozart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joseph Fritzl, Hitler to Conchita Wurst. This small country is also the remnants of the once mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Hubert explains why the loss of the empire creates a visibly darker sense of humour - as opposed to Germans - that is shared amongst Austrians, and how this in his cultural DNA shapes his edgier and darker choices of subjects in his comedy.

See Hubert's performance at Comedy Store

Hubert and Kuan-wen also discussed whether Hubert's incredibly deep voice, coupled with his mild but noticeable German accent, is rather soothing, creepy or manipulative in his comedy delivery.

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Hubert's Instagram and Twitter

Follow host Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

If you like the podcast, please like this episode and either follow or subscribe on the platform you use. You can also leave any comments on the podcast's instagram page or. email [email protected]

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Episode timeline

00:46 Intro

01:44 How to pronounce Hubert Mayr in German

02:59 Being a German speaker but coming from (the lesser known) Austria

05:51 "Not a bad accent"

07:25 Austrians having a milder accent speaking English compared to Germans

08:60 Austria v. Bavaria v, the whole of Germany

10:36 Placing Hubert's accent

11:46 Why does Hubert describe his accent as CREEPY?

14:06 Hubert's deep, low voice and its potential manipulative quality

21:05 Hubert's darker jokes - comedy coming from a place of pain

22:14 Austrians having a darker sense of humour

24:35 An off-track chat on schlagers

26:03 The empire hangover and WWII shaping Austrians' sense of humour

29:45 "The Sound of Music" and Kuan-wen singing "The Lonely Goater" in Mandarin from his boys choir days

33:39 The shaping of modern Austrian identify as an insignificant country after the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

36:47 Hubert's autobiographical comedy and why he refrains from criticising the British people

38:42 Laughing at his own (dark) jokes

39:57 Jokes about being Austria or famous people from Austria; jokes based on a nationality

45:57 The catholic upbringing

49:36 Hubert's social media

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Hubert mentioned two Austrian films: Indien - English title India - and Muttertag - English title Mother's Day.

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Isa celebrates being "weird" in their comedy approach. They got into the comedy world by accident when they tried to impress a girl - well, Isa did not get the girl, but they did get comedy! The wicked Spanish comedian - 2018 finalist of BBC New Comedy Awards - enjoys sharing the wacky thoughts in their head rather than joking about and conforming to all the worst Spanish stereotypes, against their comedy course tutor's advice.

This episode also includes a heartfelt section of Isa explaining how Spanish women had to endure an unfair and sexiest society well into the 20th century and why they feel compelled to tell the stories of Spanish women who show strong emotions..

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Isa's Instagram

Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

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Episode timeline

00:38 Intro

02:23 Isa making an effort - sometimes - to mitigate their Spanish accent

05:01 Simple phrases and greetings in Spanish

06:15 How Isa uses an opening joke to adjust audience's perception of their accent and why Isa does not want to be THE Spanish comedian who only talks about being Spanish

07:48 A comedy course tutor advised Isa to rely heavily on Spanish stereotypes

09:40 Isa does not wish to make Spanish people the butt of the joke; Manuel from Fawlty Tower

11:34 Isa started to touch upon topics from the Spanish culture more recently

13:23 Isa anglicised their long Spanish name; also, ISA means Individual Saving Accounts in the UK

15:14 How Isa's Spanish accents works in their favour & against them

17:10 UK's social classes in the eyes of foreign immigrants

20:12 Isa rarely performs comedy in Spanish

21:01 How Isa got into English stand up comedy

23:28 Is it rude or is it in anyone's right to point out a foreign comedian has a (strong) accent?

25:33 The portrayal of fiercely emotional Spanish women by Isa and other Spanish-speaking comics (Check out British comedian Jen Brister's set, who is half Spanish )

27:20 The lack of women's rights in Spain until 1981

29:22 Isa's comical portrayal of their mother that comes from a place of love

32:28 Spanish or Castellano?

33:20 The Telenovela version of a British Royal Family sketch

34:33 Isa's social media accounts/handles

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The character in Fawlty Tower mentioned by Isa is Manuel. If you have a look at the clip, it is quite surprising how far comedy and the society have evolved!

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

https://www.instagram.com/taigenkawabe/

In the second part of interview with Radu, the chat wandered off at times to include the funny geopolitical situation of Romania and how that gets reflected in Radu's comedy. Kuan-wen also delved deeper into the mechanics of Radu's voice and tone and how those embody Radu's comedy style and his worldview.

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Radu's Instagram (@radu70mld)

Radu's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show "Pandemic"

If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

Radu is the type of performer that is regarded by many fellow comics as a comedian's comedian.

He not only wins over audiences at comedy clubs, his contrarian approach often involves him throwing out ideas and notions that challenge the audiences' worldview. As he lays out his arguments, the unthinkable suddenly becomes so convincing for the audience and then chuckles come along. Radu's comedy is not just funny - it also makes you think. All these are achieved without Radu having to resort to stereotyping his home country.

In the first part of the interview, Radu talks about how he has always been aware that he has an accent either in USA or in the UK, or even back in Romania.

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Radu's Instagram (@radu70mld)

Radu's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show "Pandemic"

If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

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Episode timeline

00:40 Intro

01:20 Radu in the final of "English Comedian of the Year" competition

04:11 Radu now being aware of his accent when he speaks English - most Romanian people not being aware of their accents

06:37 Radu is used to being seen as someone who has an accent - even when he speaks Romanian

08:32 Radu makes reference to his accent at the start of his comedy set

10:49 How to pronounce "Radu Isac" in Romanian

12:20 Radu's distinct personal way of speaking (The meerkat commercial)

15:55 How Radu's accent adds comedic effect but also boxes him in at the same time

17:14 A random chat on Ping Pong and Olympic sport categories

18:12 Radu considers his accent strong (but not as strong as it used to be)

18:53 The English-speaking muscle that gets tired after a while on a given day

20:37 Making fun of Grammar Nazis

22:45 Describing one's own home town as a shit hole.

23:20 Kuan-wen's comedy routine that is based on a cartoon-ish worldview to cater for the British audience

25:10 Radu refrains himself from reinforcing Romanian stereotypes performing to British audiences

The hilarious interview with Yuriko continues in this episode.

In the last episode, your host Kuan-wen and Yuriko started the discussion of the partial and poor understanding of Japanese culture by western societies. An extension of this is the fetishisation of Japanese culture. Because of some of the terms mentioned in the chat eg Bukkake (ぶっ掛け) - and possibly because your host Kuan-wen's mischief - this episode has been marked containing explicit content.

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Yuriko's Instagram (@yurikocomedy), Facebook and Twitter (@YurikoComedy)

Yuriko's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show Kajiu About

If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

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Episode timeline

00:40 Western audience's fetishisation of Japanese culture eg. Hen Tai (変態). Anime (アニメ),

(01:18 - 02:19 Yuriko proposes both she and Kuan-wen go to a cosplay event)

02:38 How Bukkake (ぶっ掛け) went from a cooking technique to a genre in ... errr .;.. porn. See detailed explanation on Wikipedia

05:07 Kuan-wen explains why the sex noises in Japanese porns are different from those in western porns

06:24 How Mandarin speakers understand the term Hen Tai (変態) when they read the Japanese writing and why it is not just a porn genre

07:58 Yuriko chose currently not to cover these fetishised Japanese terms as comedy material

11:01 Yuriko's different persona when she performs in English and how Kuan-wen feels Yuriko has become even more anglicised on stage

14:02 Kuan-wen explains why he videotapes every single performance

16:55 On voice actors

17:59 Yuriko performing in Japanese

21:53 How the very different Japanese sentence structure affects how comedy can be constructed

24:04 Why Kuan-wen gave up learning Japanese in high school.

26:44 Yuriko's social media and 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show.

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After two episodes centring on European languages, we are back to Asia this week to discuss comedy and foreign accents with the brilliant Japanese comedian Yuriko Kotani, 2015 winner of the prestigious BBC New Comedy Award.

Your host Kuan-wen asked Yuriko her view on the piecemeal understanding/perception/interpretation of Japanese culture by western societies. They also shared their constant struggles choosing whether they should base their jokes on concepts from their respective cultures but are foreign to British audience. Kuan-wen also sang an old Taiwanese Pharma jingo based on traditional Japanese folk music.

The long chat with Yuriko is divided into two episodes*. Part 2 will be released next Tuesday (Aug 2nd) instead of the usual bi-weekly schedule as it is an extended episode.

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Yuriko's Instagram (@yurikocomedy), Facebook and Twitter (@YurikoComedy)

Yuriko's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show Kajiu About

If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

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The traditional Japanese singing style Kuan-wen and Yuriko mentioned is called Enka （演歌/えんか） with distinct use of nasal sounds.

For Tokyo Olympics in 2021, they also had similar folk dance music called Tokyo Gorin Ondo （東京五輪音頭）. See video here.

The one Kuan-wen was singing

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Episode timeline

00:40 Intro

01:14 Different titles addressing someone in Japanese -San（さん）-Kun（君くん）- Chan（ちゃん）

02:04 Japan being Taiwan's former coloniser + Tokyo Ondo （東京音頭）- Japanese Folksong/dance music

05:06 All about the magical Japanese pharmacies

06:49 Yuriko's Japanese accent when she speaks English

09:35 British comedy audience's expectation when they see comedians of ethnic minority background

11:35 Yuriko's addressing her accent and her appearance at the start of her comedy sets

12:38 Kuan-wen addressing the difference between Taiwanese and Chinese first

13:31 Western societies likely to believe they know Japan better than they actually do (example: Oyakodon, 親子丼; Pachinko パチンコ)

18:02 Basing comedy sets on concepts foreign to the audience

21:56 Swearing in English comedy

23:37 Different personalities in different languages

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*Part 2 is separated so that the entire interview does not need to be marked as explicit as one episode. (The discussion centres on western fetishisation of Japanese culture)

The effortlessly charming and cultured Italian comic Luca Cupani, who at some point in his life was more fluent in Latin and in ancient Greek than in English, brought the podcast to a new intellectual level that really challenged your host Kuan-wen to keep up. Renaissance paintings and modern art were casually referenced to and our guest this episode randomly threw away proper Latin phrases rather than made-up Harry Potter words "Expelliarmus!". There was even talks of "cassettes"

Meanwhile, Kuan-wen tried to instill the idea of doing exorcism as a side business in Luca's head and banged on and on about pasta.

Luca shared how he was told he looked more Polish or English than Italian, that the marketing people think real Italians are TOO Italian, how he ultimately achieved English fluency - despite the accent - in his adult life after receiving poorly designed English lessons in middle school. There was also an interesting discussion on Italian comedy punters.

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram or Twitter

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Episode timeline

00:38 Intro

03:03 Luca's Italian accent as a result of old-fashioned "All grammar, little conversation" teaching

04:31 Luca being more fluent in Latin and ancient Greek

05:31 UK punters asking Luca to "drop" his accent

07:09 Where Luca's blue eyes come from

08:30 Notion of how an Italian should look like (10;38 East Asians looking like characters in Mulan more likely to be cast)

12:38 Luca used to apologise for his accent early on in his comedy career

16:09 Pre-conditioned perspectives; what (some) comedy reviewers expect from foreign comics

18:35 A short discussion that is all about PASTA

19:53 The Italian test: Italians giving so much fuss about pasta (and good food!)

21:10 Differences between Luca performing in English and in Italian

23:17 Differences between UK and Italian comedy audiences

26:30 How Luca re-learned English himself properly in his 20s & 30s and his frustration

29:21 Why Kuan-wen is no longer arsed about perfecting his English pronunciation; how do you pronounce a "HOT DOG"?

30:54 Younger Italians having much lighter accents in English thanks to TV streaming

32:05 Why Silence of the Lambs was translated as Silence of the Innocent People in Italy?

32:51 The non-stop hand gestures

34:08 Luca's multi-layered stage persona and self-deprecating jokes

36:07 Italian Fascism - topics about being Italian that Luca insists on doing

36:41 The pros and cons of the "beautiful" Italian accent

39:21 Luca's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show

39:35 Luca's social media

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Luca's Instagram and Twitter

Luca's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show Happy Orphan

Kuan-wen made a reference to a set by Maisie Adam - her French teacher with a think Yorkshire accent. You can find the clip here.

Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

https://www.instagram.com/taigenkawabe/