Ania Magliano

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Tuesday 5th July 2022

One random comedian, eight random questions; it's the ultimate test of funny person and fate. This week we check in with Ania Magliano, who is traveling to Fringes far and wide soon - or up and down, really.

Her new show, Absolutely No Worries if Not, will be up at the Edinburgh Fringe from 3-28 August. But, first she's heading south to the Isle of Wight, and previewing that show at the Ventnor Fringe, which has all sorts of interesting stuff on. That's on July 28. So, how's the prep going?

"I'm feeling excited about it: I'm enjoying working on my show and feeling positive," she says. "It's my first hour of stand-up and it's all about my parents, my cat and my anxiety that I'm not interesting enough.

"I am also doing this interview after a two-week holiday and a proper rest, so there is a high chance this is the most optimistic I will ever be and that's to blame. But today I wrote a joke about air traffic control towers! I've never felt so creatively energised!"

Roger that. This may be her first fell-length show but Magliano has a healthy list of credits offstage - writing for Frankie Boyle's New World Order, The Now Show, and those rather good jokes Have I Got News For You do on Twitter. Doing your debut can feel like a big deal though, so will Ania be able to enjoy this Isle of Wight trip, or be fretting a bit?

"I'm really hoping I'll be able to enjoy the Ventnor Fringe, and for the sake of the other comics I'm sharing a car ride there with I'll aim to be done fretting at that point. It's also my last preview before the Edinburgh Fringe, so if I suddenly realise a major flaw in the show, I'll just stay on Isle/walk into the sea."

It's a story for show two if nothing else. Ania Magliano, your Random 8 await.

Who is - or was - your most interesting relative?

The only thing I know about my paternal great grandfather is that he was a shepherd in Italy who insisted on sleeping in his homburg hat. It raises so many questions: Really? Why? Was my lineage conceived by a man in a homburg hat?

What's your favourite shop, ever?

Got to be a big Boots. I've never felt so at peace with myself in a space. It's like going back into the womb, if the womb also sold meal deals. If I ever get married, I'm having my hen party in the Liverpool St station one. (Honourable mention goes to massive ASDAs - scatter my ashes there).

Is there a book or film that changed your life?

All of the Jacqueline Wilson books. They are all cultural marvels tackling topics that were frankly insane for children's books, but they did it SO WELL! Death, divorce, addiction, mummifying dead cats. They're things we all experience! If tragedy + time = comedy, tragedy + Jaqueline Wilson + Nick Sharratt's illustrations = a banging children's book.

What's the worst job you've ever had?

I worked on a fried chicken van at Wireless Festival in 2018. It wasn't the actual job that was terrible, it was the guy I was working with. He kept getting really stoned and forgetting to put the chicken in the wraps. So I ended up serving a bunch of teens plain wraps with lettuce on mayo. To be fair, most of them were so gone they didn't realise either.

Who are you most envious of?

Toss-up between my cat and my paternal great grandfather.

Which film/TV show would you love to have been in (and which part)?

I would've loved to play Princess Diana in The Crown. I'm not a great actor so I would've done a terrible job and also I look nothing like her. The nation would've been so confused.

Your greatest sporting moment?

I once nearly managed to sneak a fake word into a Scrabble game with friends. Sadly they were being a little too attentive to let 'Pliiin' slide. I also did one month of Muay Thai training in Thailand in 2020, but I never bring that up unless I've been asked (about that, or about literally anything else).

What should be Britain's next national anthem, and why?

The entirety of Bob Mortimer's episode of Off Menu. No explanation necessary.