Amid the endless parade of hacks braying about their body fat, "white people are like this" and dating complaints, an Englishwoman of Nigerian descent stood out during auditions for Last Comic Standing.

Gina Yashere is a familiar face and voice in her hometown of London, but most Americans never heard her until she appeared on the reality show, making it into the group of 10 finalists. She'll capitalize on her few days off this week by performing at Comedy Works.

"I'm very successful in England - I do my own tours - but it's every comic's dream to do well in America," Yashere says, explaining her participation on the TV competition. "It's like the Mecca for comedians. You've got Seinfeld, Bill Cosby came from there, you've got Richard Pryor, that's where everybody would gravitate toward. It's a fantastic springboard to be seen by a lot of clubs and bookers in America."

When Yashere made it onto NBC, she came with a voice stateside audiences hadn't heard before.

"My mom came from Nigeria," she said in her audition. "West Africa to England. What . . . was she thinking? . . . I can imagine her in Nigeria with all her maps spread out before her.

" 'Where shall I go? Where shall I go? You know what? I am fed up with the sun. I want to go somewhere with a lot of drizzle, and subtle racism.' "

She was born in East London, and her Cockney background isn't what Americans usually hear, she says.

"Cockney's kind of a working-class accent and background," she says. "A lot of the humor that you've had in America has been posh and middle class, like Monty Python."

Like many Americans, being the child of immigrants has left her caught between two cultures.

"I talk about the differences between my Nigerian side and my British side. English parents are quite relaxed. When it came to discipline and going out, my parents were very, very strict. Also, they were much harsher disciplinarians," she says.

"I've met quite a few black and Indian comedians who've come and worked in England and the experiences are very similar. So similar that some of them have stolen my material."

But she won't say who stole it. Neither will she say which contestants were a joy to see booted from the show, or what qualifications Ant has to judge anyone.

"All the judges are new to me except Kathleen (Madigan), because she's been to England," Yashere says. "All the judges have been nice to me, but I'm happy."

This season, the show features fewer reality-show contrivances and more performance competition, Yashere says.

"They're concentrating more on the actual comedy this year," she says. "I've got hours of material. I do shows in England where I do two-hour sets. The harder part is looking at my material and choosing what to do."

During their few days off, contestants are traveling around the country to spread their names.

For her, there have been only a few cultural stumbling blocks.

"I literally just have to change a few references, but most of the stuff about myself, my life, my family work very well," she says. "For instance, I was doing a joke about being burgled. In America, you say burglarized. That's what I have to say for people to understand me."

Gina Yashere

• When and where: 8 and 10 p.m. Friday, 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Comedy Works, 1226 15th St.

• Cost: $15 to $23

• Information: 303-595-3637

Lisa Bornstein is the theater critic. bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5101

Back to Top