Shehzad Ghias Shaikh

Shehzad Ghias Shaikh is a Pakistani writer, stand-up comedian, teacher and theatre director. He has performed stand up comedy all over Pakistan and America. His frequently writes for DAWN,[1] Express Tribune,[2] The Nation[3] and The Friday Times. Shehzad often jokes about social issues and uses his stand up comedy to highlight social problems.[4]

Shehzad is also a writer for the hit animated children's television show, Burkha Avenger.[5]

In 2015, Shehzad's work was featured by Reuters.[6]

Biography

Shehzad was born on January 14, 1989 in Karachi, Pakistan.

Shehzad completed his O and A Levels in Karachi followed by a B.A. in Political Philosophy and a L.L.B. from the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

In 2013, Shehzad Ghias got a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue as Master's degree in the United States. In 2015, Shehzad acquired his M.A. in Theatre History degree from Brooklyn College, New York.

Stand-up Comedy

Shehzad started performing Stand-up comedy in 2010. His first performance was at the Fourth Act of a summer of theatre performances by Cogito Productions at T2F Karachi.[7] The performance was followed by a solo stand up comedy show at PACC titled 'One Night Stand'.

Shehzad then moved his comedy to Lahore, where he founded Lahore's first improvisational comedy troupe, 'Room for Improv-ment'. The improvisational comedy troupe also dabbled in stand-up comedy with Shehzad training an upcoming barrage of comedians in Lahore.[8] Room for Improv performed over a hundred shows in Lahore and Islamabad.[9][10]

Shehzad started touring with his stand-up act, performing shows all over Pakistan. Performing at venues such as LUMS, Arts Council, Al-Hamra, T2F, Kuch Khaas, Mad School and Ali Auditorium among others.

Shehzad's stand up videos started gaining traction online[11] and the BBC contacted Shehzad for a national tour with Shazia Mirza. Due to security concerns, Shazia Mirza pulled out but Shehzad collaborated with Nandos Pakistan to complete the national tour in 2013.[12] Shehzad asked upcoming stand-up comedians, Shah Fahad and Akbar Chaudhry, to open for him at the tour. The tour titled 'Let The Grilling Begin' was a huge success and Shehzad ended up doing another tour with Nandos Pakistan in 2015.

In 2013, Shehzad moved to New York and started performing Stand-up comedy at different clubs in New York. For two years he toured the United States, performing at clubs such as the Greenwich Comedy Club in New York and the Hideout Theatre in Austin. Shehzad's full length stand up comedy show debuted at the prestigious Broadway Comedy Club in July 2016.

Shehzad's return tour of Pakistan, Fresh Off The Plane, in 2015 was met with critical acclaim.[13][14] It was a resounding success. The Express Tribune reported,

"Ghias kept most of his jokes Karachi-centric, while sliding in a few tales about his time as a Pakistani in the Big Apple. Having spent most of his life in Karachi, he narrated a host of eccentric things he has viewed in the city. “Pakistan is so multicultural. For instance, at one roundabout, you have the Allah Wali chowrangi, which is modest and pious, and then two signals down, you have Touch Me chowrangi.”
The comedian frequently performed as part of the local comedy circuit before his departure to the US for pursuing Master of Fine Arts in Theatre. He couldn’t contain his excitement for returning to the local stage. “It was an honour to perform in New York but the love you get from Pakistanis is incomparable. I have a connection with Karachi and the people of this city and it will stay with me no matter what,” he said."[15]

Shehzad is currently based in Karachi and performs Stand up comedy all over Pakistan and frequently visits New York to play the clubs there.[16] Shehzad's last special was titled 'Broadway to Bandar Road'.

Improvisational Comedy

Shehzad founded Lahore's first improvisational comedy troupe, Room For Improv-ment, in 2010. The troupe achieved much access performing over a hundred times in Lahore and Islamabad. The troupe consists of Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Shah Fahad, Daniyal Malik and Abdul Ahad Ayub. The troupe became defunct in 2013 when Shehzad moved to New York.

Between 2013 and 2015, Shehzad was part of the New York Improv Team, S.H.I.N.E..

In 2015, Shehzad formed the Improv troupe, The Bhands, in Karachi, consisting of Shehzad Ghias, Amtul Baweja, Abdul Ahad Ayub, Malaika Zafar and Hassaan Bin Shaheen. Shehzad trained the troupe in a new art form called 'Bhand-prov', which used the principles of Improv and combined them with the philosophy of the folk theatre form of Pakistan, Bhand. The Express Tribune reported on the Improv Troupe,

"The theatre troupe, as Shaikh puts it, is an amalgamation of folk bhand entertainers’ content and philosophy of social awareness with modern improv structure. “We recognize ourselves as a part of the bhand tradition but we are humble enough to not assume we are the next evolution of that tradition,” he stresses.
Shaikh lets out a deep sigh as we ask him about the history of bhand performers and suggests we read his Master’s thesis. He, however, patiently narrates the evolution of bhands from Sanskrit theatre.
“Bhands – roughly translated to ‘entertainers’ – were popular in Punjab and Kashmir regions of India and focused on comedy,” Shaikh says, explaining that wandering groups of comedians would go from villages to villages to perform.
He says the performance had a very specific structure, always having a character with a chammota – a leather whip – which he would use on other characters. “In the performance, when a person assumed to say something dumb utters something smart, he gets whipped; the classical bhand is still done this way,” he tells us. “Bhand was improvised and entrenched in the culture of the society,” Shaikh adds."[17]

Writing

Shehzad Ghias's blogs and newspaper articles are among the most popular ones in Pakistan. His two articles on the war hysteria between India and Pakistan in 2016 went viral in both countries. The article 'Why go to war with India' was reposted by multiple news agencies in India.[18][19][20]

Shehzad's follow up article 'Pakistan will win any war against India' was shared over 40,000 times on Express Tribune and Shehzad's Facebook page.

References

  1. ↑ "News stories for Shehzad Ghias". Dawn.Com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  2. ↑ "Shehzad Ghias - The Express Tribune Blog". Blogs.tribune.com.pk. 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Shehzad Ghias". The Nation. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  4. ↑ "Enter the Comic: Shehzad Ghias Shaikh takes on Pakistan's social issues one joke at a time". Pakistan Today. 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  5. ↑ Burkha Avenger.
  6. ↑ Houreld, Katharine (2015-08-21). "Pakistan's embattled comedians spin troubles into punchlines". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  7. ↑ "The First Act: Unplugged and unmatched - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  8. ↑ Improvroom (2011-12-27), Scenes from a hat from Room for IMPROV-ment's maiden performance!, retrieved 2016-10-24
  9. ↑ "Kuch Khaas presents Laugh Out Loud! Event | Entertainment & Arts". PakReviews. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  10. ↑ touristicweb, Hans Woppmann,. "Improv-a-thon with ROOM FOR IMPROV-MENT - Event Entry on Danka - Pakistan's Cultural Guide". www.danka.pk. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  11. ↑ Shehzad Ghias (2014-10-27), Part of Shehzad Ghias Shaikh's stand up at T2F Karachi, retrieved 2016-10-24
  12. ↑ "Standup Comedy by Shehzad Ghias Shaikh at Nando's MM Alam Lahore Event | Entertainment & Arts". PakReviews. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  13. ↑ Nadeem, Asjad. "Fresh off the plane: Shehzad Ghias Sheikh lands a solid performance | PotDrum". potdrum.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  14. ↑ www.youlinmagazine.com, Youlin Magazine,. "'Fresh off the Plane': Karachi comes alive with the sound of laughter - by Shahzeb Naeem - Youlin Magazine". Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  15. ↑ "Off the plane, on to the stage - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  16. ↑ Shehzad Ghias (2016-10-23), Shehzad Ghias Shaikh - Pakistani Stand Up Comedian, retrieved 2016-10-24
  17. ↑ "Comedy for change - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  18. ↑ "Pak comedian doesn't want war between India, Pakistan! Here's why (there's Sania Mirza and Katrina Kaif involved)". The Indian Express. 2016-09-28. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  19. ↑ "Pak comic offers compelling reasons for India, Pakistan to not go to war". http://www.hindustantimes.com/. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-10-26. External link in |newspaper= (help)
  20. ↑ ScoopWhoop (2016-09-27). "This Pakistani Comedian Has A Hilarious Take On Why India & Pakistan Should Not Go To War". ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
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