‘Nothing bonds us together more than being able to laugh at the same things’
A new UK tour is kicking off for Janine Harouni, and where better to visit than South Street this Saturday? JAKE CLOTHIER finds out more
COMEDIAN Janine Harouni is about to set out on her debut UK stand-up tour following a string of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer– and it kicks off in earnest right here in Reading.
Having already made a name for herself with nominations from the Fringe and a BBC New Comedy Award under her belt, Janine is about to embark on Man’oushe.
She says of the show: “I wrote it over the year or so that it took me to get pregnant and it’s all about that; trying to conceive, getting pregnant, miscarriage, getting pregnant again, and having my son through an elective C-section – which I would not recommend.
“It maps that journey of becoming a parent for the first time, and some of the sacrifices we make in becoming mothers.”
She explains that she also compares her experiences with those of her grandmother.
“She was a classical Arabic singer in the 40s, 50s, and 60s; there were sacrifices she had to make travelling to the US in the middle of her career and starting a family there.
“And also how my experience emigrating here to the UK compares – but ultimately it’s about family and parenting.”
Born in the US, her father is of Lebanese descent and her mother of Italian and Irish heritage, but she moved to London in 2012.
She said: “During the lockdowns, all of my friends and family were in the states –
I wasn’t yet married – and I felt very isolated.
“But we got engaged, and then married; it felt very weird because my parents couldn’t come to the wedding– but at least it was cheaper.
“And I think that made me appreciate them more, and now having a kid, I think I’m closer to them than I’ve ever been.
“We blame our parents for different things, but now I look at them and think ‘Oh my God, you you had three kids by the time you were 30... it’s lucky we’re still alive.’”
While parenthood has long been fertile ground for comedy, Janine says that bringing a personal angle to the topic is something that comes naturally.
“It’s the only thing I know how to do; I don’t do observational comedy, or things like that –
I think the more specific you are about your experiences, the more universal that actually becomes.
“Now that there are more women in comedy, even pregnant women in comedy, it is welltrodden ground.
“However it’s my personal experience, which includes my Arabic heritage, the cultural differences as an American living in the UK and married to an Irishman.”
She explains that much of the bigotry she sees in her life is the result of ignorance about other cultures.
“A lot of it comes from not knowing, living in communities where you don’t interact with people with different stories, then it becomes easy to ‘other’ people.
“In my first show, I spoke about my dad, who is the son of Arab immigrants and a Donald Trump supporter, and his relationship with a gay friend of mine.
“After I had a car accident, my friend helped me, and through that they got to know each other, which changed his views – it’s so important to expose yourself to other cultures and people from other backgrounds.”
She adds: “There’s nothing more bonding than laughing at the same things; I’ve noticed my shows becoming so much more
diverse in their audiences.
“It’s so nice meeting people from different walks of life and being united in our shared humanity, and humour is the key to that.
“Laughing is a reflex, so to be laughing with others bonds you.”
Janine, like most comedians, was performing the show ahead of the tour at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival to warm it up.
More unusually, however, she was nine months pregnant throughout the Fringe run.
“I’ve had the baby since, and that led to one of my favourite bits of the show because I had such a weird experience.
“While I was there, splayed like a chicken, the doctor turned around, snapped his gloves, and said that he’d Googled me.
“He didn’t mention liking my comedy, and frankly that hurt more than the C-section.”
The show at the Fringe was nominated for Best Comedy Show, which she said didn’t really sink in at the time.
“But I worked on that show with a friend of mine, Adam Brace, who passed away while we were putting it together.
“I wanted so much to do a good job because that was the last thing that would have his name on it, I wanted to make him proud.
“He hated awards, but I hope he’s chuffed that it was nominated– plus he worked with Ahir [Shah] who won the award, in the end, and whose show was absolutely beautiful.”
While awards are great recognition, the accessibility of a comedian’s work in the media is still effecting huge change through social media, which can drive buzz about a comedian more than ever.
“I think it makes you work hard: you post your best stuff on the internet, and then that’s your material burnt.
“You get on stage and tell the best jokes you have, and they get no laughs– they’ve all seen it on Instagram already.
“Thankfully I’m so slow at editing things together, I know exactly which ones have gone online because they become imprinted on my soul through hours of editing on a very slow laptop.”
She explains that while she admires comedians who are off the cuff, she says:
“Of course, any live show there’s going to be differences, but I’m not the kind of comic who can write on stage;
I have to be meticulous.”
She described herself as more of a writer in her sensibilities: “I don’t think that I’m a natural performer, but once you get the first laugh, you really relax.
“Which is good, because in the hours before, I’m literally willing death into my life.
“But I think I like being clapped at. Nobody claps when you finish reading a script.”
Despite this, Janine draws on experiences at drama school in her craft.
“I do enjoy performing, but because I played characters, the thought of being myself and not pretending the audience isn’t there terrified me.
“But I’ve got a lot better at enjoying myself, which is when the audience has the most fun.”
Her experience in theatre gives her a particularly analytical approach to her work.
“The comedians that I love the most clearly put so much work into both writing and performance.
“I love specificity and really nailing the physicality of something, so why not try to use that. I learned how to do an English accent at drama school, so I try to use that whenever I can – mainly because I paid £9,000 to learn.”
In fact, she says she is fascinated by the minutiae of comedic performance: “Changing one word, or knowing that a bit needs an extra B-sound or a K-sound.
“When you’re doing it over and over again, you can make it as impactful as possible by tweaking stuff, or you get bored.”
“The best feeling is when you know something should work, but it doesn’t, and then you make it work– finally it fits and makes sense.”
She says the process can also be painful: “You can image something going really well when you think of it in the shower.
“Then it absolutely bombs on stage. The process is you try 100 jokes, and two of them work, and repeat until you have 100 that work.”
As for what can be expected at Janine’s shows: “A lot of people expect comedy to be mean or that the front rows are gonna be called out.
“I don’t do shows like that; they’re personal, and lean into some of the tragic things in my life.
“When tough stuff happens, my first instinct is to try and turn that into an antidote to the tragedy, and I think my shows reflect that.
“I always try to leave audiences with a feeling of hope.”
Janine Harouni’s debut standup tour comes to Reading’s South Street Arts Centre on Saturday, January 20. Tickets are available via: whatsonreading.com and at janineharouni.com