Bilal Zafar on Love, Hate, Twitter and Biscuits

Bilal Zafar had a meteoric 2016 Fringe with his critically acclaimed show Cakes. After a Twitter prank by his brother, Zafar played along with the joke that he owned a Muslim-only bakery. Soon, the situation escalated and had summoned the wrath of xenophobes, racists and Islamophobes. The tale turned into his debut hour, scooped him an illustrious Best Newcomer award nomination and catapulted him into the comedy limelight.

Receiving verbal abuse and death threats meant that the weight of his first show came from how aggressive people could be behind their keyboards. The extremism bred with anonymity is a point that Zafar doesn’t take lightly. "My main concern with social media is the lack of moderation and outright lies that seem to spread so easily," he says. "If it was looked after a bit better I think it could be amazing."

Zafar's new show, Biscuit, is also sailing across the murky waters of social media. Though this time he's concerned more about online love than hate: "The initial idea came from an audition for a 'satirical' sketch show where I would have to be part of a forced Asian/Muslim marriage. It was horrible and made me realised how little we know about any other cultures’ love or marriage. Biscuit is about me trying to get married with all the resources available… such as Muslim Tinder – Minder."

Using his virtual adventures to further explore life in Britain with Asian heritage, Zafar is aware of the different challenges he faces in his sophomore expedition. "It has been very different because Cakes felt like a such a gift. I do sometimes forget that I did have to work very hard to make it into a decent show. Making Biscuit has been completely different because with Cakes, I already pretty much had the story and had to try to make it into a nice hour long narrative with good payoffs. This time, it feels like I'm basically trying to make it all from scratch. Luckily, I feel like I'm a better comedian than I was a year ago so I think I'm doing OK with it.

"I can't help feeling quite a bit of pressure because people seemed to love my first show so much... but I did just have a very good preview [with Biscuit] and I am feeling a lot more confident. The main thing I try to focus on is just doing a good, funny show that I'm proud of."

Which leaves us with just one last big question: does he prefer cakes or biscuits? "Impossible to answer –  too many factors to consider." Though he adds: "I think I was addicted to chocolate bourbons from about 2009-2014."

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Bilal Zafar: Biscuit, Just the Tonic at The Mash House (The Attic), 3-27 Aug (not 14), 3.40pm, £4-£5/PWYW

The Skinny wishes to thank Edy Hurst for his contributions to The Skinny North since its first issue. We wish Edy the best as he now moves from writing to performing with his two shows at the Fringe this year: Edy Hurst: Theme Show, Just the Tonic at the Tron, 20-27 Aug, 11am, £5/PWYW; and Joby Mageean and Edy Hurst: Dead Nice Boys, Laughing Horse at Southside Social, 21-25 Aug, 12pm, Free.