‘I’m a Muslim on Aussie TV - that makes it political’
COMEDIAN Nazeem Hussain tells Stellar why Australians need to keep their sense of humour in an age of unprecedented moral and political outrage.
Stellar
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COMEDIAN Nazeem Hussain talks to Stellar about the joys of fatherhood, the changing landscape of comedy and why Australians need to keep their sense of humour.
Five months ago, you became a father for the first time. What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about being a dad?
Nothing… because you get all the advice in the lead-up to the birth. But when you’re actually living it, it’s very different. Everything just takes so, so long.
Going out for a coffee, or making a cup of coffee at home, or even just finishing a cup of coffee is, most of the time, impossible.
And what’s the sleep deprivation like? Do you even know where you are right now?
I’ve never drunk but apparently sleep deprivation is the equivalent of having a blood alcohol level, so now I can finally do drunk comedy.
You and Steve Price formed an unlikely friendship when you appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! last year. Did you have any preconceived notions of what he might be like before you entered the jungle together?
I did, yeah. I probably used to think that you couldn’t divorce someone’s politics from their personal values. But actually, I think you can and that’s probably what I learnt from my friendship with him. He’s a nice guy.
Your upcoming comedy series Orange Is The New Brown deals with race and identity in Australia’s current political climate. Is it possible to make something funny out of a topic that can be so serious?
I know people say you shouldn’t talk about politics or religion in the workplace, but Australians are known for our irreverent sense of humour, and we like making fun of every sacred cow.
Making fun of big issues is part and parcel of our comedy, and if you don’t do that you’re not completing your job.
Is there any line you refuse to cross?
I don’t think there’s a line to cross, but the audience will let you know if it’s not funny. Still, I don’t want to make jokes about groups of people who are already routinely humiliated in society.
Were there particular issues you knew you wanted to include or focus on in the series?
I think what turns Australians off comedy is when it feels a little bit didactic – when they feel they’re being preached to. So I just write what’s funny to me and that will usually lead there naturally.
But even if I did a show that wasn’t political, my mere presence on the screen as a brown Muslim man in Australia in the current climate? That’s political.
You were onstage with comedian Dave Chappelle and singer John Mayer at a comedy festival in Montreal in July. Is there a collaboration in the works? A musical comedy?
It was insane, one of my life’s highlights. In a way, even the birth of my child pales in comparison to that. That’s a really bad thing to say!
Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special Nanette was a huge success – partly as it was such an unconventional take on stand-up comedy. What do you think its popularity tells us about the state of the art?
Nanette proves – and Hannah has proved – you can be different and tell your story, and that people will want to hear that as well as your mainstream comics. Stand-up is weird because you’re just listening to someone speak for an hour, but I think it’s having a renaissance.
Apparently you get mistaken for Waleed Aly quite a bit. So is Waleed Aly the poor man’s Nazeem Hussain or is Nazeem Hussain the poor man’s Waleed Aly?
He’s a poor man’s no-one! I’m a wannabe Waleed.
Orange Is The New Brown premieres next month on the Seven Network.