Prince Abdi (born 21 July 1989) is a British stand-up comedian and actor.

Early life

Abdi was born in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

and immigrated to the United Kingdom with his family in the 1980s at the age of four. He was thereafter brought up in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, London where he attended Walworth Secondary School. Abdi had football trials with

Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name ...

and

Dulwich Hamlet F.C. Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

However, he abandoned the sport at the age of 15 after incurring a severe knee injury. In 2007, Abdi graduated from Thames Valley University,

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing Col ...

with a

BA (Hons) Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Media.

Stand-up career

Abdi was originally a primary school teacher, Prince Abdi and taught in Brixton and Kilburn/

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage to ...

. In his spare time, he performed free comedy shows for a lengthy period to establish himself on the stand-up circuit. He eventually gave up his part-time job at B&Q, where he had worked on weekends for ten years, and quit teaching to pursue a comedic career full-time. In 2008, Abdi was reportedly the only Somali comedian working in Britain. Prince Abdi He has since performed at some of the more established comedy clubs on the United Kingdom circuit, including

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

(2007),

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

(Eid in the Square), Prince Abdi Jongleurs (Various),

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

, Banana Cabaret, Belfast Empire (Northern Ireland), Up-The-Creek, Headliners,

The Broadway Theatre The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Roma) is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 1681 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway (near 53rd Street (Manhatta ...

, Hounslow Theatre,

The Glee Club The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the United Kingdom, UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994,

(Birmingham),

Alexander Palace The Alexander Palace (russian: Александровский дворец, ''Alexandrovskiy dvorets'') is a former imperial residence near the town of Tsarskoye Selo in Russia, on a plateau about south of Saint Petersburg. The Palace was c ...

Rise Festival Rise was a free anti-racism music festival held in London, England, from 1996 to 2008. Originally organised as an anti-racism festival by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was revived as such by the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In J ...

Prince Abdi and Jive Cape Town Funny Festival. Besides the UK, Abdi has also done stand-up shows in Canada, the United States, Holland, Northern Ireland, Kenya and Turkey. He has performed alongside other comedians, including

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

Stephen K. Amos Stephen Kehinde Amos (born 3 December 1967) is a British stand-up comedian and television personality. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows. He began his career as a co ...

and

Reginald D. Hunter Reginald Darnell Hunter (born March 26, 1969)Maxwell, Dominic (March 10, 2007).The N-word is out. ''The Times'' (Times Newspapers). is an American stand-up comedian based in the United Kingdom. Early life and family Hunter was born in Albany, G ...

. Additionally, Abdi has done various tours with other Muslim comedians. In July 2008, he performed at the

Islam Expo Islam Expo is an Islamic exhibition held in London in July 2006 and July 2008. In 2006 it was held at the Alexandra Palace in London, a city with a large Muslim population and it was described as being the largest Islamic exhibition ever held i ...

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

, London. In July 2011, he toured four UK cities in the Peace Youth and Community Trust's (PYCT) first Muslim Comedy Tour, alongside

Jeff Mirza Jeffrey Mirza (born 3 February 1964) is an English stand-up comedian and actor of British-Pakistani descent. Early life Mirza was born and brought up in East End of London, England to Pakistani parents. His family are from the Punjab region o ...

Humza Arshad Humza Mohammed Arshad ( ur, حمزه محمد ارشد; born 3 June 1985) is an English actor, comedian and writer of British Pakistani, Pakistani descent. He produces the web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' (2010–2013) and ''Badman (web serie ...

and

Nabil Abdul Rashid Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche, known as Nabil Abdulrashid (born 3 September 1985) is an English comedian of British Nigerian, Nigerian descent. In 2010, at the age of 25, he became the youngest black comedian to perform s ...

. In 2013, he performed a whole month at the Cape Town Comedy Festival. He then performed at the monthly Laughter Factory comedy tour, which started at Heroes in Abu Dhabi's Crowne Plaza before heading to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. In July 2015, he performed at an Eid Special Comedy Night at

in London. In June 2015, Abdi made a short film ''My First Fast'' as part of the ''British Muslim Comedy'' series, five short films by Muslim comedians commissioned by the BBC and released on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

. Abdi used flashbacks and period details to recall his childhood trials of his first fast at the age of seven. In January 2016, he performed at the fifth edition of the comedy show ''Arabs Are Not Funny'' in London. Abdi has also performed at Somali community events. He continues to perform stand-up comedy throughout Britain and internationally. He is currently on tour around the London area whilst writing new and original comedy pieces on-the-go.

Television career

Abdi has written and starred in his own television sketch for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, as well as comedy and drama features. He has performed on Comedy Central's ''The World Stands Up'',

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

's ''Laughter Shock'' and ITV's ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

Stand Up Hero'' and ITV's ''

Show Me The Funny ''Show Me the Funny'' is a British reality show in which a group of ten comedians of varying experience visit ten different cities around the UK, performing tasks that are somehow meant to equip them with local knowledge to work into five-minute- ...

''. His other credits include BBC's ''The Wall'',

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's ''Channel 4 Presents'', BBC's ''The Jason Lewis Experience''. His acting credits include Part 10 of ''

Diary of a Bad Man ''Diary of a Bad Man'' (often abbreviated as ''DOABM'') is a British comedy drama web series that premiered on 6 September 2010 and ended on 10 October 2013. The series was created by Humza Arshad and consists of continuous episodes uploaded on h ...

'' and ''Laughing Stock''. In July 2011, Abdi appeared on the ITV reality programme ''

''. After he was in the bottom two comedians for the second week running, he became the second contestant to be voted off, as decided by judges

Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...

Kate Copstick Kate Copstick (born 25 February 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actress, television presenter, writer, critic, director and producer. She studied for a law degree at the University of Glasgow. Career As a comedy actor, Copstick appeared on c ...

and guest

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing ...

Comedy style and reception

Abdi's comedy style has been described as original, confident, refreshing, pacy, upbeat, and infectious. Reviews of his stand-up performances have also emphasised his connection with the audience. His comedy material draws from his roots in Somalia, growing up in Brixton, observations, and general topics.

Awards, nominations and recognition

In 2009, Abdi won the Your Comedy Star competition at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. He was also nominated "Best Newcomer" in the Black Entertainment Comedy Awards, and came third in the

Revels ''Revels'' is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, incorporating singing, dancing, recitals, and theatrics loosely organized around a central theme or narrative. The folk-tradition-based performances started in 1957, we ...

Chortle Student Comedy Awards. In 2011, Abdi came joint second in The Barbican

Hackney Empire New Act of the Year The NATYS: New Acts of The Year Showcase, previously known as The Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, is an annual industry showcase that promotes new waves of emerging Comedy and Variety acts. It ran at the Hackney Empire Theatre from 1988 until ...

competition.

References

External links

* *
Prince Abdi
on London Is Funny
Prince Abdi
on Chortle
Prince Abdi
on

Ents24 Ents24 is a live entertainment website that provides listings, information, and directs visitors to tickets for events encompassing live music, clubbing, cinema, theatre, arts, days out and stand-up comedy. The site contains details of around 10 ...

*Darvill, Josh
INTERVIEW: Prince Abdi talks 'Show Me The Funny'
''Telly Mix''. 26 July 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdi, Prince 1982 births Living people Somalian Muslims British Muslims Somalian emigrants to the United Kingdom Somalian comedians British male comedians British stand-up comedians British comedy writers Muslim male comedians Somalian male actors British male actors British male web series actors Schoolteachers from London Comedians from London Male actors from London Writers from London Actors from Brixton Actors from Shoreditch Alumni of the University of West London