Jay Shareef
- Stand-up comedian
Press clippings
Scott Bennett triumphs at Midlands Comedy Awards 2022
Notts-based Scott Bennett won Best Act again at the Midlands Comedy Awards 2022. Other winners included Tommy Tomski, Chris Yates and Josh Pugh.
British Comedy Guide, 12th December 2022Midlands Comedy Awards 2019 results
Scott Bennett, Chris Oxenbury, Tommy Tomski, Doug Carter, Lovell Smith, Josh Pugh and Jack Kirwan were amongst the winners at the Midlands Comedy Awards 2019.
British Comedy Guide, 30th December 2019Midlands Comedy Awards 2018 winners
Scott Bennett, Barry Dodds, Douglas Carter, The Glee Club and NCF Comedy were the winners at the Midlands Comedy Awards 2018.
British Comedy Guide, 12th December 2018Podcast: Jay Islaam travels with Autism
According to the fringe blurb, Jay has Asperger's, so he lacks empathy. Which is another way of saying he doesn't give a fuck about you or your problems. Martin Walker finds out more.
Martin Walker, Broadway Baby, 17th August 2016Ten must see new acts at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
There are plenty of big names gracing the Edinburgh Fringe right now, and there'll be celebrity acts, to suit every taste, showing off their latest productions all over the city. However, every superstar started at the bottom of the ladder and had to work their way to success, demonstrating their superiority amongst their tenderfoot peers.
Jay Islaam, The Huffington Post, 16th August 2016Ten must see Scottish acts at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
With Edinburgh Scotland's most popular tourist destination, the locals are used to being outnumbered by sassenachs. Things get much worse at Fringe time, and it's easy to forget there are plenty of home-grown comedians to enjoy too. Here's my recommendations for ten brilliant acts who are all as Scottish as a highland terrier chewing shortbread on Loch Lomond, while a junkie shoots up, signs on, and stabs a guy in a kilt eating haggis, drinking Irn Bru and shouting "Och aye the nooooo."
Jay Islaam, The Huffington Post, 10th August 2016Ten most controversial acts at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
Comedy on TV and in the clubs is safe and inoffensive. Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe is no different, because most of the shows don't exist for your benefit. They're being staged in the hopes of grabbing the attention of industry bigwigs and broadcasters. So, it makes sense to be as bland and agreeable as possible, because that's what the real target audience - i.e. people who can help your showbiz career - seem to be looking for. However, not everyone at the Fringe is pandering. Not everyone is desperate to be liked and accepted. And provocative performers haven't gone extinct just yet. If you want politically incorrect jokes, to be taken out of your comfort zone, or to hear someone challenge social orthodoxies, then here's ten acts I'd recommend you go and see at Edinburgh Fringe 2016. If you're a bit of a pussy, though, then best avoid all of these.
Jay Islaam, The Huffington Post, 9th August 2016Ten must see character acts at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
At this time of year, hundreds of middle-class drama students descend upon Edinburgh to showcase their "talent" in poorly crafted one-act plays and under-rehearsed sketch shows. And, if you're visiting the world's biggest arts festival, there's always a danger you'll be bamboozled by fat marketing budgets and slick sales patter into gracing these artistic abortions with your presence. To help you avoid that pain, here's my recommendations for ten character acts you should go and see instead.
Jay Islaam, The Huffington Post, 9th August 2016Jay Islaam: 10 Edinburgh Fringe questions
Jay Islaam answers 10 questions about his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show.
British Comedy Guide, 8th August 2016Autistic and artistic: why the two often go hand-in-han
Comedians, musicians and painters are exploding the popular notion that autistic people are all misfits or mathematicians.
The Guardian, 5th August 2016