Ania Magliano

Ania Magliano didn't realise regular young women like herself could become stand-up comics until she saw the diverse range of acts at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years ago. Now, more than 20,000 Twitter followers later, she's preparing for her first hour-long solo show.

How did you realise you wanted to work in comedy?

When I was younger I wanted to be an actor, but I also really enjoyed watching panel shows with comedians - it was always really just men though, the line-ups weren't very diverse at all. It wasn't until one year I was at the Edinburgh Fringe, just working as a volunteer, that I saw a much wider variety of comics and I began to realise that it was something I could probably do! Even though getting to perform at the Fringe is still a very privileged thing to be able to do, the line-up was still a lot better than what I was used to seeing. I started writing some stuff and performed it at this pub, this really weird Arsenal-themed pub with the players' heads on the walls, and when I moved to London I started doing it a lot more.

Is there much of a comedy scene where you're from?

I'm from Buckinghamshire, and there isn't really! One of the first gigs I did was at this brewery, and the audience was pretty much just a few old people, and I thought they were going to hate it - at the beginning a lot of my jokes were kind of dirty, like I talked a lot about sex, and I saw these two women about 70 years old on the front row, but they absolutely loved it! I've been surprised like that quite a bit, where people I thought would hate my act really liked it.

At the moment you're working on an hour-long show - how is it coming along?

It's still very much a work in progress! I haven't done an hour-long show before, and usually with something like this it'd develop over a couple of years, with a lot of testing and performing it to test audiences, but obviously with the pandemic that hasn't been possible. I didn't write any comedy during lockdown - I did write some things, but it was all like scripted stuff, and there's a podcast I've started as well. I'm trying to be very honest with the comedy I'm writing now though, like nothing's off-limits.

You've built up a pretty large following on social media - how has that helped your career?

It has been so, so helpful! When I was starting out I'd go into a room and feel like nobody knew who I was, but when you've got a kind of recognition from social media people are more likely to want to watch your act - they come knowing what to expect.

What's been your favourite venue or festival to perform at?

There's this collective for queer and non-binary comics called The Lol Word, and their nights are always the most fun! The atmosphere there is great. We play games like curling and rounders backstage, and someone usually gets injured - I've never been injured, I'm actually usually the one causing the injuries!

Is acting something that still interests you?

Absolutely, it's just not my main focus. I have done some acting in short films. When I was at school all the plays we learnt were very serious, like Animal Farm and that sort of thing, and I found that I prefer doing comedic acting, where I can incorporate comedy into it, but that just isn't taught!

What's the podcast you've launched?

It's called The Weekly Shop, I started it over lockdown with fellow comedian Harry Monaghan. It's so ridiculous but I love doing it! I'm obsessed with podcasts, like I'm always listening to one - my friends actually get a bit concerned! I'm never not listening to one - I can't go more than about 20 minutes without listening to a podcast.

Words: Scott Bates