Interview: Janine Harouni Is 'Finding the Funny' in Life’s Challenges in MAN'OUSHE at SoHo Playhouse

Janine Harouni, acclaimed stand-up comedian and rising star in the comedy world, is presenting the New York Debut of her show Man’oushe at the SoHo Playhouse now through December 21. Man'oushe, which explores Harouni's Arab roots, pregnancy and more, showcases her sharp wit and heartfelt humor. 

BroadwayWorld spoke with Harouni about what audiences can expect to see, shaping the material for the show, and much more! 

You are bringing your show to the New York stage for the first time. What does it mean to you to debut it at SoHo Playhouse?

Even though I live in the UK now, I’m originally from New York. So I grew up going into the city and seeing shows. It’s the first place I saw stand up comedy live so it’s amazing to be debuting this show there. And New York audiences are the best -  they’re fun, they’re smart, and they know how to have a good time. It’s definitely one of my favorite places to perform. 

What can audiences expect to see with this show? 

It’s first and foremost a stand-up show, so it’s full of jokes and funny stories -  like the time I realized I wanted to be a parent after taking magic mushrooms in Thailand or the time I forced my husband to propose when I accidentally (on purpose) found the engagement ring in his night stand. But it’s also a show that has heart and tackles some of life’s tougher subjects. 

What was it like for you making such a big change in your life and career, moving to the UK and pursuing a career as a stand up? 

I moved to the UK to go to drama school. But during an acting for film class I saw myself back on camera and was horrified. I called my mom and said “The other girls are blonde and beautiful with button noses and big lips. I feel so ugly.”  And my mom just replied in her no-nonsense New York accent: “Janine, you have an amazing…sense of humour.” And that day, a comic was born.

I always knew I wanted to be a comedian, but I was too scared. There’s an element of comedy that feels like stepping off a building and hoping you can fly. That terrified me. So I thought, 'I’ll become a stage actor instead.' That’s a safe career, right? I got lucky. After graduating I booked a job playing Julia in a West End production of ‘1984’. I was very lucky, and very bored.

When you’re an actor, you're essentially a meat puppet. I stood where they told me to stand, said what they told me to say, and wore what they told me to wear (which for that show wasn’t a lot). After a few hundred performances, my luck as an actor ran out. And when I found myself fun-employed for the better part of a year, I finally got the push I needed to sign up for an open-mic comedy night – and I haven’t looked back.

Your comedy is based on personal stories, how did you go about shaping the material for your show? 

Even though my comedy comes from personal stories - I don’t like to call it “storytelling” because frankly that sounds lame and not funny. I prefer to call it narrative stand-up, which to me means it’s made up of bits and jokes and stories from my life that I’ve polished in comedy clubs but that all tie together into one cohesive narrative. I once heard James Acaster describe creating a show as discovering it rather than writing it and I feel the same. I collect these thoughts and stories and moments from my life. And piecing them together into a show feels more like solving a puzzle than anything else because the game of the creative process is figuring out how all these seemingly disparate things fit together. That’s where having a skilled director comes in handy. And I was very lucky that I got to work with two of the best in the business. 

This show has been co-directed by Jon Brittain and Adam Brace. What was it like working with them? 

Adam Brace, probably best known in New York for directing Alex Edeman’s brilliant solo show “Just For Us”, taught me everything I know about writing comedy that is personal and meaningful. 

We started working together in 2018 on my first show “Stand Up With Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated)” - which is about the political divide between me and my Arab-American Trump supporting dad (wrap your head around that one) - and how a near fatal car accident, which paralyzed my leg, helped bring us together again.

Adam taught me that comedy can be so much more than just jokes. That it has the power to really move people. And when he died suddenly in the middle of making this show, I’ve never felt more lost, personally or professionally.

That’s when I reached out to Jon Brittain. I don’t know another director Adam respected more than Jon. And even though I’d only ever met him once very briefly, Jon generously came on board to help me shape this show at a time when I was feeling beyond hopeless.

We spoke about Adam often. And imagined what he would say. Usually something darkly funny, inappropriate, and yet somehow incredibly insightful (the asshole). And when it became clear that losing Adam would be a part of this show’s story, Jon handled it with an abundance of understanding, love and humor.

With over 100 million views on your stand-up clips, you’ve built a global audience. How does that feel? 

Like lots of creative people, I have a voice in my head that’s constantly telling me I’m not good enough. So it took me years before I finally worked up the courage to post clips of my stand-up on social media.

I was terrified. But during covid I started to post some old bits of stand-up and thank god I did. Because of my social media following, last year I was able to perform to sold out rooms in countries I’d never even been to. I performed in Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai, and in cities all across Europe and the US. None of that would have been possible without social media, and sure it sucks up all my time and makes me feel INCREDIBLY anxious but that’s a small price to pay for an expenses paid trip to India, right? …RIGHT? 

What do you hope audiences will take away from seeing this show? 

Even though there are some heavy topics in the show around death and loss - I really wanted to make a show that felt uplifting. It’s been wonderful meeting people afterwards who describe it as cathartic, or said they found themselves laughing and crying within the same sentence. To me that’s how life feels. It can be so hard - and the only way through it all is finding the funny. The best comedy for me is the kind that leaves you feeling a little less afraid and a lot more connected.