Teztify to some good comedy at Wells Festival

But for comedian Tez Ilyas he wants to ‘hold up a mirror so society can look at itself’.

This is one of the tasks along with being funny that Tez hoped people will look at and understand when they come to one of his gigs. He will be brining his new show entitled Teztify when it arrives in Somerset at the Wells, Comedy Festival on May 25.

Teztify is Tez Ilyas’ third standup show. His previous two, TEZ Talks and Made in Britain, both garnered mass critical acclaim and sold-out across the board.

After his debut Edinburgh show, TEZ Talks transferred to BBC Radio 4 for a full series and Tez’s career has just kept going up!

In addition, his first ever national tour, earlier this year, was a resounding success and he’s also just finished filming on a new sitcom, Man Like Mobeen, which was commissioned after a successful BBC Feed (BBC Two/ Three).

Talking about himself, Tez said: “I am a stand up comedian, born in Lancashire and I have been doing stand up for seven and a half years.

"I started doing stand up comedy as as a hobby as I wanted something to do in the evening when I moved to London.

“I got involved in stand up when I went on Google as I was looking for writing courses but decided as I thought I was funny and my friends had told me then I would give it a go.

“I was nervous at the beginning but when we did the end of year show I was happy. I don’t think I could do anything else.

“I am a terrible singer and I am not a good dancer, I could never be a professional dancer of Strictly Come Dancing.

“Comedy is the only thing I am good at, I think I was born to do it.

"I am comfortable in the idea of writing my own material and when I am on stage doing comedy I am in my own comfort zone.

"I think like many stand up comics we are not the funniest in our circle of friends but we can be funny on stage.

“The most important part of it all is timing. You can be taught how to hold a mic, all the technique you need to tell a story but timing, that is something which cannot be taught.

"It is learnt and acquired over time.

“I enjoy pushing boundaries and seeing the look on peoples faces when I say something which leaves them shocked.

“When I see that look I laugh, to tell them know it is a joke and they can laugh as well.

“That is the sweetest laugh when you are pushing boundaries and they still laugh with you.”

In the press release it states: “Having spent a lot of the last year dealing with the ignorance of the aftermath of major terrorist attacks and the resurgence of the far right, Tez Ilyas is ‘teztifying’ against all the assumptions the world has of him.

“Muslim, a Northerner, a working-class man of faith – all labels he owns, but what does he really think of them?

No matter the answer, you know he’ll do it with his trademark cheek and satirical wit.”

I asked Tez what he thought this, people’s persona of himself as a Muslim, all added up to, he said: “I am not sure if there is a philosophy there but would I would say is if there is a group of people in the room and you are a white comedian and are making a joke about Asian or black people then you should be as comfortable saying it in a room of Asians or Blacks.

"Then the audience will decide if the joke is funny or not.

You have to think about what your audience will accept and what it will not and pitch it accordingly.

"I think I am self aware of my limitations and what I am good at and what I am poor at.

“I am good at writing material and reading a room.

"I have a glass half full outlook on life and I have always used humour as a defence mechanism. What makes me tick?

"I guess that we are all every single one of us British.

"There is no one way to be British and we do not all have a homogenous identity.

“My main job is to be funny. I would rather people laugh and say that was hilarious rather than I learnt something but I did not find it funny.

“I think I am relaxed on stage to the point it is almost horizontal."

More details about the Wells Comedy Festival online at wellscomfest.com