“There is an element of self-deprecation in my comedy,” says critically lauded local comedian Susie Youssef ahead of her upcoming Sydney Comedy Festival show,Check Youssef Before You Wreck Youssef.

“I’ve joked about being single. It used to mean more when I was younger,” she says. “There has been a lot of backlash about clichés, but these experiences are real for the person going through them. So they’re shared experiences. And they become clichés because so many people share them.

“It doesn’t matter what you joke about, as long as you’ve worked hard at something to make it funny. Those shared experiences are a quick way to connect, even if it’s clichéd. Just being bloody funny – that’s where the longevity is in comedy. The gender issue is a small part of the difficulty. I’m not saying it isn’t real – because it is – but it’s a small part of the difficulty.”

While many have waxed lyrical about Youssef’s comedic prowess, she is reluctant to identify these qualities herself. “These are things you recognise in other people,” she says, ever humble. “The amusement comes from the things and stories that are more specific and more personal. I find that the more specific and personal I am, the more I’m connecting. I make jokes about my family Christmases. We had trinket donkeys that dispensed cigarettes from their arseholes. When I was growing up, I thought that was normal. I come from a family of people with a good sense of humour. And the jokes are usually on me. I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had experience across the board, especially in the last three years.”

Youssef has impressed audiences in Edinburgh, New York, Chicago and Atlanta with her spontaneous sharpness, and she has enjoyed guest television appearances on the likes of How Not To Behave, The Chaser’s Media Circus and The Checkout. By all accounts, she’s doing extremely well for herself.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” she laughs. “You live from gig to gig. We don’t put the difficulties out in public as much as the highlights. When you get up and perform, people infer confidence. But with me, and a lot of comedians I know, confidence is a wavering thing. You want to ride with that wave of feeling you’re on top of the world when you can. It’s really difficult to make a living in this unstable industry; to integrate real life with a comedy career. But the experience of being uncomfortable also makes you push yourself harder to be funny. Being in a major city in Australia is one of the easiest places to make a career – you have so many opportunities.”

Coming from a large family, Youssef always has a small army of audience members to count on. “They are so supportive, it’s embarrassing,” she says. “They come to all my shows. My mum even manages not to fall asleep. At first they were terrified for me when I started to show an interest in performing when I was around 15. I come from a big family – there are eight members of my immediate family and eight million in my extended family. Family always provides a lot of material.”

Susie Youssef’sCheck Youssef Before You Wreck Youssef is on at the Factory Theatre,Thursday May 5 – Saturday May 7,as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival 2016.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine