Tez Ilyas

Tez Ilyas
Birth name Tehzeeb Ilyas
Born (1983-04-08) 8 April 1983
Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Medium Stand-up
Nationality British
Years active 2010–present
Genres Observational humour, Satire
Subject(s) Islamic humour, Islamophobia, Islam in the United Kingdom, Social integration
Website www.tezilyas.com

Tehzeeb "Tez" Ilyas (Urdu: الیاس تہذیب‎; born 8 April 1983) is an English stand-up comedian of Pakistani descent.

Early life

Ilyas was born and brought up in Blackburn, Lancashire, England[1] and is of Pakistani descent.[2]

Ilyas started his career as a civil servant, after studying biochemistry at Lancaster University where he also completed a master's degree.[2] He then got a graduate job in London.

Stand-up career

Ilyas fell into comedy after googling online writing courses and completing a week long open mic workshop,[2] before becoming a comedian in 2010.

In June 2015, Ilyas made a short film The Fast and the Fool as part of the British Muslim Comedy series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by the BBC to be released on BBC iPlayer.[3][4] Ilyas goes through the day in the life of a fasting Muslim, and shows how he copes with the stresses and strains of an ordinary day in the office during Ramadan.[4]

In July 2015, Ilyas performed at Eid Special Comedy Night at The Comedy Store in London.[5][6] In December of the same year, he performed at BBC Asian Network's special comedy night, celebrating 50 years of Asian programmes on the BBC with a special comedy night in Birmingham.[7]

Ilyas has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe four times. In 2011, he was in a three hander with Gary Tro and Kate Lucas called Gags Songs and Bombs. In 2013, he was on the comedy reserve in the Pleasance Dome. In 2014, he performed for a week.[8]

Ilyas' debut show TEZ Talks[9] resembles TED Talks, the popular conference lecture series[10] Ilyas' show is inspired by his life as a British Muslim[2] and defuses numerous misconceptions about Islam.[10] His show is staged as an introductory seminar in becoming a convert to Islam with the audience playing the part of potential new recruits. This enables Ilyas to explain the intricacies of his belief system, while putting bigoted misconceptions to bed.[11] He gives a series of mock-inspirational speeches on integrating into British society,[2] and explains concepts like jihad and Ramadan with unpatronising good humour, explores "British values" and debunks Islamophobic abuse.[9] In August 2015, Ilyas performed the show at the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[2] In February 2016, he performed the show at London's Soho Theatre.[12]

A BBC Radio 4 pilot based on Tez Talks has been commissioned. Ilyas was awarded a place on the BBC's writers academy and has written and filmed his own scripted comedy short for Sky. He has appeared on both The Now Show and the Children in Need Comedy Gala for BBC Radio 4, and appeared on both Virtually Famous on E4 and Live From the BBC on BBC Three.[12]

Comedy style and reception

Paul Fleckney of The Guardian said, "Ilyas has a slickness more reminiscent of US comics, and the gags to back it up, though his most prized asset could yet be his bold, subversive streak."[13] Alice Jones of The Independent called him "A comic voice to listen out for in future."[9] Si Hawkins of The National said, "TEZ Talks will make you think – and laugh."[10]

Lewis Porteous of Fest Magazine said, "Sincere and persuasive, Ilyas is a fine ambassador for cultural relations."[11] James Clark of TNT said, "sharp wit and charmingly cheeky onstage persona."[12] Gayle Anderson of The Herald said, "This is smart, subversive comedy with pin-sharp observations."[14] Tess Pullen of Nouse said, "sharp wit and even sharper dress".[2]

Chortle labelled him "sartorially stylish".[2] Access All Areas Edinburgh called him "one of the hottest rising stars on the comedy circuit."[15] Jo Nead of Arts Award Voice said, "He is undoubtedly a talented comedian, and by far the best stand-up act I have seen so far."[16]

James McColl of The Skinny said "Ilyas offers the audience nothing but love and laughs."[17] John Nicholson of the Daily Mirror "Very funny throughout but towards a real purpose, it felt like a quietly important show."[18]

Awards and nominations

In 2011, he reached the semi-finals of BBC Radio New Comedy Awards.[19] In 2013, Ilyas was a finalist for Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year[2][20] and won The Pleasance showcase The Comedy Reserve.[2]

Personal life

Ilyas is a Muslim[9][10] and is based in Clapham, London.[1] He is a Blackburn Rovers Football Club fan.[21]

Ilyas cites television shows such as South Park, The Thick of It and Blackadder, but most importantly the dry humour of the people of his home town Blackburn and his father, as inspiring him most.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cooper, Lydia (31 January 2016). "Tez Ilyas Interview". Laugh Out London comedy club. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pullen, Tess (27 July 2015). "Edinburgh Fringe 2015: An interview with Tez Ilyas". Nouse. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "BBC iPlayer - British Muslim Comedy - Tez Ilyas: The Fast and the Fool". BBC iPlayer. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Badat, Hafeeza (19 June 2015). "British Muslim Comedy Takes Over BBC iPlayer". Asian Image. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "HaLOL: can the UK have a laugh about Islam?". New Statesman. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Rahim, Sameer (21 July 2011). "HaLOL Comedy Night, Comedy Store, review: 'challenging'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Special comedy night to feature Tez Ilyas, Guz Khan, Shaista Aziz and Aditi Mittal". Asian Image. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Tez Ilyas, Tez Talks". FreshAir.org.uk. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Alice (26 August 2015). "Tez Ilyas, Edinburgh Fringe review: a witty exploration of what it means to be a British Muslim". The Independent. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Hawkins, Si (24 August 2015). "Tez Ilyas' TEZ Talks will make you think – and laugh". Abu Dhabi: The National. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 Porteous, Lewis (14 August 2015). "Tez Ilyas: Tez Talks". Fest Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Clark, James (28 January 2016). "Fringe: Tez Ilyas interview". TNT. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Fleckney, Paul (19 August 2015). "Class of 2015: who are the Edinburgh fringe's funniest newcomers?". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Anderson, Gayle (27 August 2015). "Fringe Comedy reviews: Tez Ilyas, Pleasance Courtyard; Eleanor Tiernan, Laughing Horse@The White Horse; Sofie Hagen, The Liquid Rooms and George Next Door". Glasgow: The Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Fringe: Tez Ilyas interview". Access All Areas Edinburgh. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Nead, Jo (9 August 2015). "Tez Ilyas: Tez Talks". Arts Award Voice. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  17. ↑ McColl, James (19 August 2015). "Fringe Comedy Reviews: Identity". The Skinny. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Nicholson, John (12 August 2015). "Top five jokes from the Edinburgh Festival today plus Ian Smith, Kieran Hodgson, Tez Talks and Felicity Ward reviews". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "Blackburn comic Tez through to semi-finals". Lancashire: Lancashire Telegraph. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Tez Ilyas". Chortle. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Tez Ilyas: Edinburgh Fringe 2015 interview". Laugh Out London comedy club. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
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