FOC It Up is a comedy collective aiming to showcase the talents of women and non-binary people of colour, in a comedy world that is mostly made up of straight white men. Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe twice a week on Fridays and Sundays, each show consists of a talented line-up that changes each time. On this occasion, we had stand-up comedians Aditi Mittal, Mista Lorraine and Kilara Sen as well as cabaret act Butch Princesa (aka Andrea Spisto), with Thanyia Moore as MC.
Refreshing, entertaining and a great way to spend a Sunday night
Each act did a short 10-15 minute set, but the hour was jam-packed with hilarious jokes and funny quips about white people. It was refreshing to see comedians who were born and brought up in the UK, as well as those who were international, such as Sen (who is Japanese) and Mittal (who is Indian). This meant that a whole range of perspectives were being put forward and the (mostly white) audience learned lots about different cultures, and what comedy is like within those cultures.
I was in stitches throughout the show, but especially during Mittal’s set, where she talks about the Indian meme of men messaging women to show their “bobs and vagene” (boobs and vagina). She repeats the phrase so often when discussing being a woman in comedy, with impeccable comedic timing, I was in hysterics. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of Butch Princesa’s performance, as she danced, performed and mimed having sex. It was nice to have another performer who wasn’t a stand-up comedian, especially since I wasn’t expecting it in advance. (When something has the word “comedy” in its name, you don’t expect to see non-comedians performing. But it worked).
FOC It Up was refreshing, entertaining and a great way to spend a Sunday night. Although the line-up changes for each performance, I have faith that every show is just as good as the one I saw and every comedian chosen to perform is as excellent.
