Comedienne Shappi Khorsandi headlined a fundraising gig for Kingston Labour last night praising the party’s commitment to socialism.
The 41-year-old, who has appeared on high-profile TV shows including Live At The Apollo and 8 Out of 10 Cats, entertained the St John’s Parish Hall audience with material from her current tour Because I’m Shappi.
The Stand up for Labour event, which also featured political comedian Joe Wells and cult musical double act Raymond & Mr Timkins, was one in a series of comedy nights across the country.
“I’m a live comedian,” said Shappi. “Doing TV work is lovely but my job is live stand up and that’s what I love doing.
“I do lots of intimate gigs because being a comic is like being an athlete – you’ve got to keep your feet in the smaller clubs because those are the places where things happen.”
Great night in Kingston! Lots of laughs and money raised! Thanks to @tessa_kind and @Godfrey_Lee for organising! pic.twitter.com/CpcLS5i0mm
— Stand up for Labour® (@Standup4Labour) March 23, 2015
The Iranian-born comic recently hosted Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression awards which she explained was testament to her father who received death threats in his native country for his work as a satirist.
“Neil Kinnock’s children came to my school and he came to talk to us – that had an impact on me,” she said.
“I’m from a socialist background and in the 1970s and 80s Labour was the party for that – and they still are.”
Book @Standup4Labour for your constituency Labour Party. So much fun, you’ll laugh your pants off while raising money pic.twitter.com/pQ276mrHSq
— Tessa Kind (@tessa_kind) March 23, 2015
The Kingston and Surbiton Labour candidate Lee Godfrey, a former member of the Royal Navy, explained that there needed to be a shift in how politicians reach out to the electorate.
“We need to change the way we do politics,” said Mr Godfrey.
“We need to engage with a whole new section of people so we’ve deliberately set out to make this campaign engaging and fun.
“It’s fantastic to be able to have Shappi come and perform.
“It’s great that people like her are supportive of the cause and we count ourselves very lucky to have her here.”
