AN ANTENATAL teacher is determined to challenge the stereotype that ‘women are not funny’ with witty stand-up sets and satirical comedy.
Njambi McGrath discovered her talent for making people laugh 18 months ago in one of her pregnancy classes for the Ealing branch of the National Childbirth Trust.
Originally from Kenya, Njambi describes her style as ‘alternative humour with political satire’ and has been likened to award-winning British Asian stand-up Shazia Mirza.
The upcoming comedian hopes to get her idol on board for a charity gig in September, called Women Are Not Funny.
While raising money for a grassroots Ealing charity – still to be decided – she wants to encourage other funny women like her to follow their passions in what is still a male-dominated field.
She said: “It can be hard as a woman in this profession. A promoter will never put two females on one bill but sometimes it can be a welcome change for the audience.
“I want to address these issues. There are some people who say women can’t write, but look at JK Rowling. I want to challenge the stereotype and get as many high profile women comedians as possible.”
Njambi, who now lives in Pitshanger Village, moved to Ealing in 1989 to study IT at the then Thames Valley University but quickly realised she wanted a more exciting job. She retrained with NCT six years ago.
For the past six months she has hosted The Big N comedy nights on the last Friday of the month at the Brentham Club in Meadvale Road, Ealing, alongside gigs in east London. She also hosts a weekly stand up night every Wednesday in the basement of The Green pub in Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush.
Njambi remembers her first foray into comedy: “I was teaching a class and they didn’t feel very motivated to learn so I thought I would make some jokes to get them on my side.
“One of my clients was a script writer for films and said I should do stand-up. I went to some comedy clubs in Shoreditch and a promoter challenged me to write a five minute stand-up set without ever doing it before.
“There were 200 people in the audience, I was absolutely terrified but I got to find out if I could do it or not. And I got great feedback.”
To take part in the charity night or to nominate a cause to be supported, visit www.njambimcgrathcomedy.co.uk.
