From Chat Masala to Where's My Bike, new generation of Asian comics has crowd in stitches

A NEW generation of Asian comics may be taking shape at this year's Festival Fringe, with Kenyan-born comedian Imran Yusuf — described as one of the UK's best young comics — emerging alongside better-known stand-ups such as Paul Sinha.

An Audience with Imran Yusuf is part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival shows, free to Fringe audiences, but the Muslim comedian is one possible contender for a nomination in the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, it is said.

Asian comics at the Fringe this year include Hardeep Singh Kohli, whose career has run from television presenter to comedy writer and columnist, returning to the festival with Chat Masala.

But British comedian Nick Mohammed, formerly of the Cambridge Footlights, is also making waves. His show Nick Mohammed is Hard to Swallow, built around witty displays of linking techniques to memorise numbers or cards, has earned strong reviews.

Other Asian names on the Fringe this year include Paul Chowdhry and Chandrika Chevli, with Where's My Bike, a show based on how the actress and Radio 2 newsreader was left in a critical condition after being hit by a taxi.