Iliza Shlesinger: Fluent in English
To say that US comedian Iliza Shlesinger is stoked to be visiting Cardiff seems to be underplaying her enthusiasm. “I am so excited to come to Wales,” she cries. “It has always been on my list and I cannot wait to hear Welsh in person, I’m gonna freak out, it’s so exciting! I also like the flag and want to get some cool shirts so I can brag to everyone back home.”
In the decade since she won US TV comedy/talent smackdown Last Comic Standing, Dallas-raised Shlesinger has established herself as one of the leading stand-ups of her generation. She’s also recorded four Netflix specials, including the recent Elder Millennial, which finds the now 35-year-old discussing relationships, singledom, and gender politics. And while there’s been much heated discussion online about her particular brand of ‘feminism’ (or not, depending on your viewpoint), it’s clear what she has to say hits the mark with many.
“It has been massive,” Shlesinger says of the response to the show. “The special trended forever and the fan mail I got was from all over the world – it was so cool to know that my comedy, the theme of it resonated internationally. I love the idea that, at our core, we are all affected by the same kind of emotions – it was really validating as a comic and as a human. It’s crazy to get a DM from a girl in Singapore and then from a guy in like, Buenos Aires, and to read that they both loved the special for different reasons.”
With Mark Wahlberg comedy Instant Family due in UK cinemas shortly, she’s just wrapping up filming on another movie with the actor, Wonderland (co-starring Black Panther’s Winston Duke and the genre-splicing Post Malone), and then to Cardiff with this show, titled Fluent In English.
“This new hour is a funny look at all the crap we are told we have to go through when we get married and what I put my foot down on,” she says. Dave Freak
Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Tue 13 Nov. Tickets from £22.50. Info: www.glee.co.uk