Asian Takeover comedy show serves up laughs in Vancouver this week

A stellar line-up of female Asian comedians is taking the stage in Kitsilano this week to celebrate Asian Heritage Month.

Asian Takeover, presented by Comedy Here Often and Funny1040, is happening on Friday, May 20, at Hollywood Theatre.

The stand-up showcase at Hollywood Theatre is hosted by Julie Kim (The Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Kim’s Convenience) and features headliner Irene Tu (SF Sketchfest, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest), Andrea Jin (2022 JUNO winner for Comedy Album of the Year, CBC’s The Debaters) and Yumi Nagashima (Comedy Central Asia, Just for Laughs).

 

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“The Asian Takeover Comedy Show is a celebration of hard-working Asians,” said Nagashima in an interview with Daily Hive. We’ve come a long way to be seen and understood more authentically.

“Even though we tend to be categorized as “female Asian comedians,” each of us has a unique voice, perspective, character, and style. When the four of us perform together the audience gets to see that each of us has a different magical power like the X-Men.”

Yumi Nagashima/Submitted

Nagashima said Asian Heritage Month is an important time for her as a woman of Japanese descent.

“Although I identify myself as a universal comedian, I am very proud of my Japanese heritage,” explained Nagashima. “It is nice to be featured and booked a lot in this celebratory month as an Asian comic. Whenever I have a chance and when it’s natural to do so I make my joke set up more educational about Japanese culture and history.”

Hollywood Theatre will open its doors at 5 pm for pre-show cocktails, with Asian Takeover starting at 8 pm.

Andrea Jin/Submitted

Julie Kim/Submitted

“I have worked with Julie and Andrea before and I appreciate their supportive yet competitive energy,” added Nagashima. “They inspire me to be a better comedian. I’ve never worked with Irene before so I’m super excited to see her set live.

“My mission is to unite the world with laughter but during the Asian Takeover Comedy Show maybe the audience gets to see us unite more Asians with laughter.”

Irene Tu/Submitted

Comedy Here Often also hosts monthly showcases at 604 Studios in Vancouver as well as weekly Saturday night events at Hecklers Bar and Grill in Victoria.