Amna Bee jokes that the first time she experienced an orgasm was when her plane touched down in Toronto, having moved there as a young woman to study accounting. Apparently, it took being 10,000 kilometres away from her strict Muslim parents (who lived in tribal north-western Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan) to get her off. She also clearly recalls that flight was the first time she sat next to an unknown man, though she was more bemused by his two names – one American, one Muslim – than the fact he was gay.
Her debut Comedy Festival show, housed in the kooky bluestone basement of Smith Street haunt Caz Reitops Dirty Secrets, is packed full of no-holds-barred observations on the reality of life in a tribal region of Pakistan, including the fact that the sound of gunfire is in no way limited to a reputation for terrorism. No, it also happens when your country wins at cricket, or your parents spring a surprise wedding on you.
If her droll delivery sometimes steals some of the momentum of the show’s most out-there moments – and there are many – then it’s surely just beginner’s nerves. She has a wicked sense of humour that’s instantly engaging, and a deft way of prompting audience members into oversharing too, particularly fellow imports. Bee segues into 9/11, as well hilarious observations about chucking pebbles at Indian border guards for patriotic reasons, then linking the latter to awakening BDSM urges. She is candid about hook-up culture, her accidental brush with lesbianism in Alice Springs, and about marrying and then divorcing an Indian man ten years later. Bee’s also hilariously scathing about gyms advertising “finding your tribe” as depicted by a white woman in Lululemon.
This might be her first Comedy Fest berth, but it’s unlikely to be her last. Brillo Raw Comedy finalist He Huang delivers a spectacular warm-up session to start. She similarly vibes on culture clash, on being a Chinese import in a trying time, and also dating (and perhaps smelling like) an Indian man. Together, they’re a dream team.
