General

Muslim comic Shazia Mirza

Wednesday, 16 February 2005
8:00 PM - 10:30 PM

Organizer: Voices from the Edge

Muslim stand-up comic Shazia Mirza presents her "Last Temptation"

Stand-Up Comedy/Political Lecture

The Last Temptation of Mirza
a montage of original comedy and personal reflection featuring Internationally Renowned Female Muslim Stand-up Comic Shazia Mirza in her Boston Debut

'Hello, my name is Shazia Mirza..
At least that's what it says on my pilot's license.''

Performance followed by Q&A and Reception

(Cambridge, MA) The Last Temptation of Mirza: a montage of original comedy and personal reflection featuring Shazia Mirza, a Boston debut of an internationally renowned female Muslim stand-up comic. As part of the "Voices from the Edge" speaker series; sponsored by What is Enlightenment? magazine.

The world's premier female Muslim comic, Britain's Shazia Mirza, is making her Boston debut performing her stand-up act "The Last Temptation of Mirza," which highlights her unique experience as being one of the few female Muslim comics performing today. Presented by the Voices from the Edge speakers series, this event is a rare opportunity to engage with Mirza in an intimate setting. The evening will begin with a stand-up performance, followed by an audience question/answer period, and then ending with a reception.

2004 was the "Year of Shazia Mirza." Exploding onto the international media's radar screen, she was: chosen as one of the Women of the Year by The Guardian, one of England's most prestigious daily newspapers; picked as one of the Women to Watch by Marie Claire magazine; interviewed by Ed Bradley on CBS's 60 Minutes; and featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe and dozens of international magazines, newspapers and TV programs around the world. Why all the attention for the British-born Pakistani 27 year old comic? The answer is obvious once you meet her.

Shazia Mirza is not your ordinary stand-up comic. She's a practicing Muslim, devoted to her traditions and culture. She's also, like many women her age, a devotee of popular music, pop culture, fashion and the fashionable elite. Then again, unlike most people her age - let alone any stand-up comic - she maintains Islam's strict prohibitions against drinking, smoking, and dating before marriage. Her routines can include such remarks as:

''I'm really pleased to be here, because my dad has let me out for the night.
So I'm not going to stay long. My dad is picking me up in 10 minutes.
He thinks this is a library.'' and "I never make jokes about sex, because I've never had it.''

All delivered with her trademark deadpan quality. Her ability to embody this impossible paradox and still be wildly funny and outrageous is why Mirza is a rising star on the international circuit.

It is also the reason she was invited to be a 'speaker' for Voices from the Edge. The international speakers series, sponsored by What Is Enlightenment? magazine, presents thought leaders and visionaries, from all walks of life, with a mission to challenge their audience to stretch beyond familiar ways of thinking. "I was struck by Shazia's fearless candor," says Mary Adams, Director of the Voices from the Edge series. "She is walking an edge between Islam and the West as a young Muslim woman doing stand-up comedy. Although she is not a 'speaker' as such, I feel she is definitely a 'voice from the edge'."

For more information about Shazia's Cambridge appearance visit the Voices from the Edge website at www.wie.org/voices or call 38 Cameron at 617-492-4091. For more information about Shazia Mirza and her upcoming 2005 tour of Pakistan, Australia, USA, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, visit her official website at www.shaziamirza.org.

"The packed crowd always explodes with laughter and applause."
Aliza Marcus, The Boston Globe

"In the global menagerie of comedy Mirza is that rarest of rare creatures."
Marshall Sella, The New York Times Sunday Magazine

What Is Enlightenment? magazine is published quarterly by What Is Enlightenment? Press, a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to a revolution in human consciousness and culture. WIE also sponsors the Voices from the Edge speakers series which offers an annual calendar of lectures and seminars featuring innovative thinkers and prominent leaders in various fields of expertise. WIE has an international readership of 75,000 and is celebrating its thirteenth year in print. www.wie.org

38 Cameron is a unique gallery and event center with a broad offering of public events including film presentations, speaker events and discussions. By creating and hosting public forums to explore different areas of interest, it is fast becoming a thriving community cultural center in North Cambridge.

http://www.marycurtinproductions.com

Location:
38 Cameron, Suite 100, Cambridge, just off Massachusetts Ave., near the Cambridge/Arlington line

Cost: $18, students $10

Directions: 5 minute walk from Davis Sq. and the Red Line

URL: http://www.38cameron.com