Fear of a Brown Planet

Fear of a Brown Planet
Born
Aamer Rahman
(1982-10-17) 17 October 1982
Saudi Arabia
Nazeem Hussain
(1986-04-21) 21 April 1986
Noble Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Notable workFear of a Brown Planet Returns (2011)
Comedy career
Years active2007–present
MediumStand-up, television, film
GenresObservational comedy, satire
SubjectsRacism, political humour, war on terror, immigration, race relations

Fear of a Brown Planet was an Australian stand-up comedy duo consisting of Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain.

History

Origins

Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain met through their work with young Muslims,[1] their support for asylum seekers and anti-racism activism.[2][3]

In 2007, Hussain entered Triple J's Raw Comedy Award open mic competition at the Melbourne Comedy Festival[4][5] After seeing Hussain compete, Rahman also decided to enter.[3] The two beat hundred of other hopefuls from around Australia to reach the Victorian State final together.[6] Rahman won the State Final and went onto the national finals where he was voted the runner-up in a performance that was screened nationally on ABC Television.[7][8]

Due to the success of Raw Comedy, the two decided to develop their five-minute stand-up routines into a one-hour show together with Egyptian-Australian comedian Mohammed El-Leissey.[5] Fear of a Brown Planet debuted at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2007. Concentrating on issues of racism, immigration and the War on Terror, the show was considered controversial in what was then an extremely homogenous and apolitical comedy scene in Australia, selling out its entire run.[2] Following the success of Fear of a Brown Planet's debut, El-Leissey left the group to pursue media opportunities.

Fear of a Brown Planet (2008 – 2013)

The group name played on the Public Enemy LP, Fear of a Black Planet, and the dynamic between the group's rappers Chuck D and Flavor Flav. [4][8] Hussain opened the shows with half an hour of lighter material focusing on family stereotypes and immigrant stories, followed by Rahman who delivered harder-hitting and more aggressive opinions about racism, colonialism and whiteness. Australian comedy reviewers often found Rahman's style too abrasive.[9][10]

In April 2008, Rahman and Hussain performed Fear of a Brown Planet at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, and the Adelaide Fringe,[11] winning the Best Newcomer Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[12]

In 2010, Rahman and Hussain performed their follow up show,[7] Fear of a Brown Planet Returns[13][14] at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, and the Adelaide Fringe. In the same year, Aamer performed in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Oxfam Comedy Gala televised on Channel Ten, whilst Nazeem performed in the Cracker Night of the Sydney Comedy Festival Gala, televised on The Comedy Channel.[11] In October 2010, the pair took part in a one-off concert with Azhar Usman, Preacher Moss and Mo Amer (Allah Made Me Funny) at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne.[1][15]

In August 2011, Fear of a Brown Planet debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[16][17][18] On the way home from Edinburgh they performed an impromptu sold out show in London[19] after a friend organised a show at the historic Hootananny venue Brixton[20] with only two days notice.[21]

In 2011, Australian Story broadcast a documentary on the ABC about Rahman's and Hussain's lives in Australia as well as their debut performances in Edinburgh and London.[20] In the same year, they performed their new show, Fear of a Brown Planet Attacks.[22] On 30 August 2011,[23] Fear of a Brown Planet Returns DVD and Blu-ray was released, which was recorded at the Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne[24] on 15 January 2011.[25] It features the "best of" material from their 2010 sell-out festival show, also entitled Fear of a Brown Planet Returns, as well as content from their debut shows.[26][27] In December 2011[28] and December 2012, they performed on ABC2.[29]

In April 2012, Rahman and Hussain played at the second show of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[30] In September 2012,[21] they toured the United Kingdom,[31][32][33] where they performed in cities including Manchester, Bradford, London, Birmingham and Cardiff.[21]

In 2013, they performed at Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.[34] In October 2013, they performed at the Sydney Opera House.[35]

Comedy style and reception

Rahman and Hussain write together and perform as a tag-team.[36] Their show splits into two sets,[17] each performing alone before handing over to the other.[37]

Each is introduced by a video-montage poking mild fun at political idiocies.[38] Their style is orthodox standup, distinguished by the quality and novelty of the material. Rahman is cheerful and upbeat while Hussain is sly, laconic and wry sardonic.[17] Hussain is energetic, using an assortment of accents and playful movements whilst Rahman proves black comedy delivered when standing still can be effective.[39]

Majority of Rahman's material are things that have happened to him and about the community.[26] Hussain's jokes are about himself, his family and his community.[19]

Reviews

Awards

In 2008, Rahman and Hussain were recipients of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Award for their debut show Fear of a Brown Planet.[7][11][40]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ziffer, Daniel (14 October 2010). "Brown humour". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 Barker, Arj (7 November 2011). "The Planet They're On". ABC Online. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 MacDonald, Leigh (29 July 2013). "Vulture Chirps with Fear Of A Brown Planet". Vulture Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 Fahmi, Asme (30 November 2011). "Fear of a Funny Muslim". MuslimVillage.com. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Interview – Fear of a Brown Planet". Heckler. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Fear of a Brown Planet". Eurasian Sensation. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Fear of a Brown Planet". Smartartists. 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Interview: Aamer Rahman, one half of Aussie comedy duo Fear Of A Brown Planet on politics, protest and why he's so bitter". TNT Magazine. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Interview: Aamer Rahman, one half of Aussie comedy duo Fear Of A Brown Planet on politics, protest and why he's so bitter". TNT Magazine. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Kamau (August 2011). "Episode 25 pt. 3 - Aamer Rahman: Fear of a Brown Planet". Podbay.fm. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "Our Patrons". RISE: Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  12. ↑ bigspin (28 March 2011). "Fear Of A Brown Planet perform Fear Of A Brown Planet Attacks". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Broadbent, Penelope (27 March 2010). "Fear of a Brown Planet Returns". Australian Stage. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Fear of a Brown Planet Returns". Melbourne International Comedy Festivale. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  15. ↑ Logan, Brian (10 August 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet: the fast show". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 Logan, Brian (16 November 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  17. ↑ Hawkins, Si (17 July 2011). "Muslim comedians perform at Edinburgh's Fringe". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Planet They're On - Transcript". ABC Online. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. 1 2 Fahmi, Asme (1 December 2011). "Fear of a Funny Muslim Returns". MuslimVillage.com. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 Hamilton, Davina (19 September 2012). "'Is Australia racist? In a word, yes'". The Voice Online. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Fear Of A Brown Planet perform Fear Of A Brown Planet". Beat. 28 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Fear Of A Brown Planet". JB HI-FI. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  23. ↑ "Nazeem Hussain". ABC Online. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  24. 1 2 "Fear Of A Brown Planet Returns - DVD recording". ABC Online. 16 January 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  25. 1 2 Lamb, Lizzie (7 November 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet Interview with Aamer Rahman". Australian Film Review. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  26. ↑ "Fear Of A Brown Planet Comes To Dvd". Spotlight Report. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  27. ↑ "Fear of A Brown Planet". ABC Television. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  28. ↑ Galvin, Nick (2 December 2012). "Fear of a Brown Planet, Friday, December 2". The Age. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  29. ↑ Lan, Christine. "Political Asylum's Late Night Riot". Beat. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  30. ↑ "In Fear of a Brown Planet". The Times of India. India. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  31. ↑ "WIN TICKETS: Fear of a Brown Planet". Asian Image. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  32. ↑ Rahman, Aamer (8 September 2012). "Fear of a Brown Planets' Bro Aamer Rahman's letter to Prince Harry". Son of Malcolm. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  33. ↑ "Interview – Fear of a Brown Planet". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  34. ↑ Blake, Elissa (20 October 2013). "A challenging comedy about Muslims has attracted more attention than expected". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  35. ↑ Hook, Chris (28 December 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet to perform at Sydney's Comedy Store in January". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  36. ↑ Lan, Christine (8 April 2011). "Fear Of A Brown Planet Attacks". Beat. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  37. ↑ Laura (28 August 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet". one4review. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  38. ↑ Gard, Rhys (27 September 2013). "Fear of a Brown Planet". Alternative Media Group. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  39. ↑ "Award Winners". Melbourne International Comedy Festivale. Archived from the original on 30 September 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.