Here's the funny Dinosaur guy

Belarus, Dubai, India, Singapore. Boy, you sure get around quite a bit...
I enjoy travelling and like seeing different parts of the world and learning about the different cultures, but it can get tiring. You are constantly going through airports and living in hotels. Sometimes you get to stay in nice places though.

So, you do homework for your acts...
It is very nice to do homework. As a stand up comedian, you can’t do the same routine everywhere so when I get to a place, I find out what’s going on around over there, get acquainted with the cultural differences and over the course of my stay,  I spend my time observing the people and goings on  and incorporate it all into my act.

The most unusual place or show you’ve done yet...
I have been to so many places. I’ve done gigs in mainland UK, I remember spending 24 hours in Estonia and  not having enough time to work on my act. I have definitely enjoyed performing in India in Mumbai and Pune in 2011. I enjoyed the fact that I got to perform in a country that is a part of my background.

From video gaming to comedy, what’s your story?
I had always been into games even as a kid. And I was in the video games business for quite a while but I’d also wanted to do stand up for a long time. Officially speaking, April 2000 is when I performed for the first time ever, this was even before I started professionally. It was at a local arts centre and I was opening for another comedian. I later performed live at The Comedy Store in London and remember being amazed at the concept of just going on stage and performing in front of a live audience. What I love most about stand up comedy is the unmitigated creative control it gives you. 

Have you had enough embarassing, no-show moments?
Absolutely. No comedian becomes bullet proof. Everybody has a bad day at work. You could do well one day and fail miserably the next day. You just take a deep breath and move on.

Should the audience in the first row be afraid?
I’ll say no. Don’t be afraid. You should expect comedians to talk to you. When you watch a match, you want to be in the front row. You want to be in the first row at a concert but when it comes to a stand up gig, people are so afraid to sit in the front. Frankly, every time I see an empty first row, my heart sinks a bit. So, am telling you, you WANT to be on the front row at this show. Just accept it as part and parcel of the experience and make the most of it. If it’s of any help, I am not mean.

Let’s talk about the dinosaur impersonation...
When I was a kid I’d spent some time year in the US and Jurassic Park had just come out there. That was the first time you got to see dinosaurs that looked so real. So, when I returned to London, I was the only person who’d seen the movie —it hadn’t released in UK yet— and I’d play-act it for my cousins. So, this dinosaur impersonation is something I’ve been doing since I was 13 and it has seen years and years of transformations. Eventually, when I was looking for ideas for an act one day, I thought I’d do the impersonation, it went very well with the audiences and has been popular ever since.

What should the audience come prepared with?
Just buy the ticket and come with a great frame of mind. I know that stand up comedy is doing very well in India and I am excited to perform in India because unlike other countries where people don’t get my cultural references, the audiences here get it. I’ll say, be excited. Because, if you are excited, I am too!

Comedians are ambassadors of the positive. Agree?
I consider it a privilege to be able to do what I do. There’s just so much conflict and horror in the news today. So, comedy is where you build bridges between people. You are communicating with people and making them laugh. That’s when you realise that for the differences you perceive exist between people, it is the commonalities that you share more. 

Catch Imran Yusuf at The Comedy Store’s Best in Stand-Up at Hyatt, MG Road on Sunday, September 22, 7pm onwards. Tickets are available at the venue and www.bookmyshow.com.