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What made you get into comedy?
In primary school I wasn’t very cool. I never got Hula Hoops in my packed lunches because my Polish mum would give me cucumbers and I hadn’t seen High School Musical because we didn’t have Sky. Without those two major assets, you had to find a “thing” and mine became trying to make people laugh. I made a YouTube channel when I was 14, then eventually worked at the Edinburgh fringe when I was 18, and saw some amazing standup. I also saw some really bad standup. I thought: well, I can definitely do that!
What’s been one of your all-time favourite gigs?
I did one where the average age of the audience was over 70. I decided to do some material about a vibrator and they absolutely loved it. A 92-year-old gave me some tips on the different settings.
With all the prestige surrounding the Cambridge Footlights, did it meet your expectations when you were a member?
It was definitely a mixed experience, some massive highs and some major lows which I won’t go into because this is a comedy interview. It was a huge privilege to not only be at Cambridge in the first place but also to get to practise a lot there. But a system like Footlights is at risk of producing a very samey, repetitive type of comedy, especially when the committee is dominated by white men, as it was when I was a fresher. In my second year I co-founded Stockings, a comedy society for women/non-binary performers which held workshops as well as open mics that you didn’t have to audition for to try to help create some new, less intimidating spaces and encourage different voices to participate. By the time I was on the Footlights committee, there were lots of conversations that were well overdue happening about representation and diversity there, and I hope things were changed for the better.
Do you have a comedy hero?
Jack Black in School of Rock is just wow. Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire, too. These are some funny guys!
Do you have a hero not from the world of comedy?
The team behind Colin the Caterpillar for their commitment to deliciousness and relentless innovation (see: Colin the Caterpillar rucksacks).
Any bugbears from the world of comedy?
Reviews. They can sometimes be useful in helping people decide what they might enjoy seeing but there are limitations and lots of context to them, and who writes them. If you’re a comedy goer, try to find a reviewer you share taste with, rather than just reading whatever comes out! I also recommend some less mainstream reviewers, such as Zoë Paskett and her newsletter LMAOnaise. I’d quite like for comedians to be able to review their reviewers. Obviously I’ll erase this answer if my next show gets exclusively five stars.
Best heckle?
Any time a clip of mine goes viral it’s always well worth checking the comments section for the actual comedy gold. Recent highlights include “Who allows these women to speak into microphones?”, “She has a deep delusion” and “She is a bit strange I think.” I’d love to connect with these men more because I’ve never felt so seen.
Can you recall a gig so bad, it’s now funny?
My first ever gig was to two old men in an Arsenal-themed pub who were just trying to have a quiet pint. I did a lot of material about the concept of AirPods. Needless to say, it got absolutely nothing. The story isn’t that funny now, but it’s definitely funny that I confidently continued with a career in comedy after that.
You’re on the new season of Taskmaster. Tell me something that surprised you about the show?
The first time you watch the tasks back in the live studio recording, it’s really challenging to see Alex Horne doing it with four other people. It’s like finding out he’s having four affairs behind your back … Alex, if you’re reading this, I thought what we had was special?
What inspired your forthcoming show, Peach Fuzz?
My shows tend to reflect what’s been going on in my actual life in the past year or so. I’ve been trying to feel more connected to my body and less like a brain in a jar so there’s some stuff about that. I’m also on a journey of trying to figure out what I actually want in all areas of life. But to be fair a lot of it has come from watching videos of Sabrina Carpenter online and being fascinated by just how different we are. I generally just try to write truthful comedy about stuff that scares or embarrasses me to talk about because that is where the juice is.
Do you have any regrets?
I regret letting my hobbies slip. When comedy went from hobby to job, I never replaced it. But hobbies are good for the soul. I’ve just started a badminton WhatsApp group: 34 members strong and we haven’t managed to organise a game yet.
What are you most excited about right now?
I’m starting to paint again. Taskmaster made me remember how much joy I get from being creative (despite everything Greg said). When I didn’t do art GCSE, it just got dropped from my life, but it shouldn’t have been. You don’t have to be good at everything. I am going to lean into the fact that most of the paintings I start with will be shit and offensive. So I’ll probably just paint Greg.
What have you learned from standup?
Laughter is a nice thing. It can be easy to forget when it becomes your job, but fundamentally I think laughter can be such a connecting force (when used correctly) and help you feel like you’re not so alone in the world – both as audience and as comedian.
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Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz is on tour from 6 February
