The Winnipegger Abroad

Aisha Alfa

Supplied photo

1. Aisha Alfa
2. Neil Young
3. Jonathan Toews

With family heritage in Nigeria and Manitoba, and having performed across Canada, Aisha Alfa has a brilliant passion for Winnipeg. Speaking from the town of the media’s favourite accidental comedian Rob Ford, she says, “We don’t give ourselves enough credit … I think any of our comedians in Winnipeg could make it in Toronto.”

On learning readers selected her for this title, her captivating voice comes to a brief standstill. “That’s incredible. That’s an even bigger honour than I would have thought, that people chose to put my name down.”

She describes Winnipeg as a fantastic and friendly place to hone one’s craft with a deep pool of comedic talent.

Alfa expresses a limitless freedom for acceptable jokes. “My opinion of comedy is that funny is funny. Everything is fair game. Whether racist or sexist … you can’t limit yourself.”

Alfa recognizes comedy as a powerful way to respond to the suffering in our lives. “There’s a lot of offensive topics - that’s what comedy’s for. Why are we not talking about this thing that so many people are dealing with? Racism, rape - these are horrible things people have to live with. When we refuse to address them, it perpetuates the idea that they are not to be talked about.”

She encourages comedians to test themselves. She explains that Chantel Marostica, another comedian from Winnipeg, encouraged her to work by writing bad jokes she would never tell onstage. “If you’re not willing to bomb, you’ll never be the comedian you want to be. It’s super boring to do safe jokes every time. It means not giving yourself a chance.”

Catch the limitless style of Alfa with a group of spectacular comedians at the Park Theatre on Dec. 12 for Family Affair: Holiday Edition.

Part of the series: The Uniter 30

Published in Volume 68, Number 14 of The Uniter (December 4, 2013)

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