Review: BILAL ZAFAR: IMPOSTER, Soho Theatre

“What do you do when an adult lies to your face constantly?”

Bilal Zafar: Imposter is an hour-long story in which Zafar uses comedy to tell the audience about a wild experience he had when his housemate tried to get him arrested five separate times.

The show started a bit late, with Zafar telling the audience about how there was apparently a group of around thirty people who had bought tickets but hadn’t shown up, which was why the show had been held for a few extra minutes. Before getting into the main story, Zafar goes into a bit of an explanation on how a one-hour comedy show is made, telling some funny stories about what it was like touring around and dealing with a range of audience members from around the country. 

After a brief introduction to his life, including some funny anecdotes about being one of the only members of his Pakistani family to be married to a white woman, Zafar gets into the main event that we have all come to the show for - who exactly is this mysterious housemate that seemed determined to see Zafar behind bars? We are first introduced to Zafar’s first flatmate, Lee, and Olive, the landlord’s dog that the pair take care of. Things are going well until, out of nowhere, a man named Jack with the catchphrase of “Swear to God” appears in the flat. 

Throughout the show, Zafar keeps a very conversational tone with the audience, with most of the show feeling as if you are at a bar listening to your friend telling a crazy story about their life. We learn about this new flatmate, Jack, a strange and extroverted man who makes a lot of wild claims and has a tendency to dance in front of the television but makes up for it by baking cupcakes in the morning after particularly annoying nights. However, one day, a week before Zafar is set to be married, things take an odd turn, leading to several police visits and some choices having to be made. There are genuine moments that had me gasping in surprise or audibly reacting to different reveals, proving Zafar’s ability as a storyteller. 

In a strange choice, before the conclusion of the show, Zafar goes off on an off-topic tangent, beginning with returning to the large group of people who apparently paid for their tickets but failed to show up. It feels like Zafar was thrown off by the group never arriving, which might have contributed to the strange atmosphere during the show. He also shows off some merchandise he’s selling, with neither product being related to the actual show he’s just performed. There was also a mini rant about the cost of the Fringe and the struggles of being working class, which was certainly interesting but definitely a weird way to wrap up a show before the final story. Even with this the show ended early, making it more of a 50-minute show than a full hour. 

Bilal Zafar: Imposter is a show with an interesting story but a strange way of presenting it. Zafar has some great comedic moments throughout the show but his very casual and conversational attitude makes it a bit difficult to really get into it as a work of standup comedy. 

Bilal Zafar: Imposter runs until 4 May at Soho Theatre.

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