Award-winning comedian Celya AB talks to What’s On as she prepares to return to her adoptive city to appear at the Birmingham Comedy Festival.
It’s been a whirlwind few years in the young life of comedian Celya AB. Originally from Paris with French-Algerian roots, she’s been embraced as an adopted Brummie ever since she moved to the city aged 19. Three years later, she decided to try her hand at comedy, and just two years after that won the Birmingham Breaking Talent Award at the Birmingham Comedy Festival. Since then, she’s reached the finals of the Funny Women Awards (2019), and BBC New Comedy Awards (2021) and won the Chortle Award for Best Newcomer (2022). Not bad considering she’d never even contemplated comedy as a career until five years ago.
The friendly comic laughs at the absurdity of it all, but admits there was a definite lightbulb moment - and the kick-start challenge of a friend - that effectively changed her life.
“I’ve always loved comedy, but I’d never seen stand-up in real life. (In 2017) I was back home, and I saw it in one of the first comedy clubs in Paris. There was this show where I saw acts doing 10-minute sets and I thought ‘I could do that.’
“I kept meaning to do it but kept backing out at the last moment and never booked a gig until I bumped into (comedian) Karen Bailey when I was really hungover and pretending to write jokes. She asked me what I was doing, and when she saw I was writing jokes, she said ‘you’ve got three days because I’m putting you on my gig.’ So basically it took me being bullied into it!”
After spending the next three days writing material (“I was scribbling like a maniac - I was only doing a five-minute set, but I must’ve written enough for 25!”), Celya made her stage debut and instantly knew she’d found her calling.
“I was so nervous, but then the first time I got a laugh I couldn’t stop thinking about it and just fell in love with it.”
She admits that overcoming the hurdle of being able to perform - and be funny - in English was a huge victory in itself.
“I was always funny with my friends in France, but I didn’t think I was allowed to be funny in another language, so when I came to England I just stopped being funny!”
Which is not to say she wasn’t having fun - in fact, quite the opposite. She’d settled in Birmingham after falling for the city and its people while visiting extended family to celebrate her 19th birthday. She came for three weeks and never went back.
“I just fell in love with the people - everyone is so friendly. I live in London now, and I can see the difference. I wish everyone in the UK would be as friendly as Brummies, but they’re not. Starting there was a very soft landing to moving to England.”
Birmingham reciprocated that love when Celya won the Breaking Talent Award at the city’s Comedy Festival, a prize she hadn’t realised she could be nominated for.
“I remember thinking I don’t qualify as a Birmingham comedian because I’m French, but I guess I’d been on that circuit since I started, so I must’ve counted!
“I didn’t expect to win it at all, but it was great because the Birmingham circuit is so good and being among those people meant a lot. The Glee Club in Birmingham is one of my favourite venues around the UK, so it felt very special - and it’s always nice to win stuff, isn’t it?”
Celya’s career has been on an upward curve ever since. In addition to the award recognition mentioned earlier, she’s made a host of TV appearances, including Yesterday, Today And The Day Before (Comedy Central) and Festival Of Funny Live (BBC). She’s also been a guest on The Guilty Feminist and Global Pillage and is a regular writer for BBC Radio Four’s The News Quiz.
Her first full-length show, Swimming, enjoyed a sold-out run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe (“a rite of passage - you have to do it and get it out of the way”). As much as she’s looking forward to performing the show at the Birmingham Comedy Festival, she’s already desperate to move on to the next one.
“I originally thought Swimming would be a combination of everything I’d written, but it ended up being mostly new material. I’m very excited that it went well, but I’m already thinking about the second one and how I can improve. It’s so important to know that this is all a process, and that you get better at it the more you do it.”
Even though she’s now based in London (“I can get a lot of gigs down there without leaving the city”), she admits she learned a lot from developing and honing her craft in the Midlands.
“When I started, there were expectations that I’d just do jokes about being French, which don’t go down too well if you do them too much - that’s one thing I learned from being in Birmingham.
“Birmingham audiences tend to be very honest, which I think makes you be a better stand-up. And because it’s the middle of the country, you get a microcosm of the whole country in terms of what people like, if that makes sense - like a Venn diagram. If something works in Birmingham, then chances are it’ll work in Manchester, Liverpool and London.
“When I’m in London I can do jokes just about being in London, but then I can’t take them anywhere, and I’m really interested in jokes being sharp and working everywhere. It makes the writing process a bit slower, but it’s super-important, and I learned that from starting off here.”
She’s also delighted to be back where it all began - both the city and the festival.
“I love the Birmingham Comedy Festival, and (founder) Dave Freak is a wonderful, wonderful man. I recently did a set at the Moseley Folk Festival, and every time I’m in Birmingham I realise I miss it so much, so I’m really glad to be back.”
Celya AB plays Cherry Reds, Birmingham, on Sun 9 October.
Award-winning comedian Celya AB talks to What’s On as she prepares to return to her adoptive city to appear at the Birmingham Comedy Festival.
It’s been a whirlwind few years in the young life of comedian Celya AB. Originally from Paris with French-Algerian roots, she’s been embraced as an adopted Brummie ever since she moved to the city aged 19. Three years later, she decided to try her hand at comedy, and just two years after that won the Birmingham Breaking Talent Award at the Birmingham Comedy Festival. Since then, she’s reached the finals of the Funny Women Awards (2019), and BBC New Comedy Awards (2021) and won the Chortle Award for Best Newcomer (2022). Not bad considering she’d never even contemplated comedy as a career until five years ago.
The friendly comic laughs at the absurdity of it all, but admits there was a definite lightbulb moment - and the kick-start challenge of a friend - that effectively changed her life.
“I’ve always loved comedy, but I’d never seen stand-up in real life. (In 2017) I was back home, and I saw it in one of the first comedy clubs in Paris. There was this show where I saw acts doing 10-minute sets and I thought ‘I could do that.’
“I kept meaning to do it but kept backing out at the last moment and never booked a gig until I bumped into (comedian) Karen Bailey when I was really hungover and pretending to write jokes. She asked me what I was doing, and when she saw I was writing jokes, she said ‘you’ve got three days because I’m putting you on my gig.’ So basically it took me being bullied into it!”
After spending the next three days writing material (“I was scribbling like a maniac - I was only doing a five-minute set, but I must’ve written enough for 25!”), Celya made her stage debut and instantly knew she’d found her calling.
“I was so nervous, but then the first time I got a laugh I couldn’t stop thinking about it and just fell in love with it.”
She admits that overcoming the hurdle of being able to perform - and be funny - in English was a huge victory in itself.
“I was always funny with my friends in France, but I didn’t think I was allowed to be funny in another language, so when I came to England I just stopped being funny!”
Which is not to say she wasn’t having fun - in fact, quite the opposite. She’d settled in Birmingham after falling for the city and its people while visiting extended family to celebrate her 19th birthday. She came for three weeks and never went back.
“I just fell in love with the people - everyone is so friendly. I live in London now, and I can see the difference. I wish everyone in the UK would be as friendly as Brummies, but they’re not. Starting there was a very soft landing to moving to England.”
Birmingham reciprocated that love when Celya won the Breaking Talent Award at the city’s Comedy Festival, a prize she hadn’t realised she could be nominated for.
“I remember thinking I don’t qualify as a Birmingham comedian because I’m French, but I guess I’d been on that circuit since I started, so I must’ve counted!
“I didn’t expect to win it at all, but it was great because the Birmingham circuit is so good and being among those people meant a lot. The Glee Club in Birmingham is one of my favourite venues around the UK, so it felt very special - and it’s always nice to win stuff, isn’t it?”
Celya’s career has been on an upward curve ever since. In addition to the award recognition mentioned earlier, she’s made a host of TV appearances, including Yesterday, Today And The Day Before (Comedy Central) and Festival Of Funny Live (BBC). She’s also been a guest on The Guilty Feminist and Global Pillage and is a regular writer for BBC Radio Four’s The News Quiz.
Her first full-length show, Swimming, enjoyed a sold-out run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe (“a rite of passage - you have to do it and get it out of the way”). As much as she’s looking forward to performing the show at the Birmingham Comedy Festival, she’s already desperate to move on to the next one.
“I originally thought Swimming would be a combination of everything I’d written, but it ended up being mostly new material. I’m very excited that it went well, but I’m already thinking about the second one and how I can improve. It’s so important to know that this is all a process, and that you get better at it the more you do it.”
Even though she’s now based in London (“I can get a lot of gigs down there without leaving the city”), she admits she learned a lot from developing and honing her craft in the Midlands.
“When I started, there were expectations that I’d just do jokes about being French, which don’t go down too well if you do them too much - that’s one thing I learned from being in Birmingham.
“Birmingham audiences tend to be very honest, which I think makes you be a better stand-up. And because it’s the middle of the country, you get a microcosm of the whole country in terms of what people like, if that makes sense - like a Venn diagram. If something works in Birmingham, then chances are it’ll work in Manchester, Liverpool and London.
“When I’m in London I can do jokes just about being in London, but then I can’t take them anywhere, and I’m really interested in jokes being sharp and working everywhere. It makes the writing process a bit slower, but it’s super-important, and I learned that from starting off here.”
She’s also delighted to be back where it all began - both the city and the festival.
“I love the Birmingham Comedy Festival, and (founder) Dave Freak is a wonderful, wonderful man. I recently did a set at the Moseley Folk Festival, and every time I’m in Birmingham I realise I miss it so much, so I’m really glad to be back.”
Celya AB plays Cherry Reds, Birmingham, on Sun 9 October.
Feature by Steve Adams.