Shaparak Khorsandi

Shaparak Khorsandi is an award-winning stand-up comedian and writer.

Formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, she established herself as one of the country’s finest comedians in 2006 with her sell-out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker.

Asylum Speaker told how her family were forced to flee Iran and gain asylum in the UK. Her father’s popularity as a satirist attacking the regime has ensured they cannot return to Iran. As Shappi says, “Obviously, there’s free speech in Iran, but little freedom after you’ve spoken.”

This show led to the publication of her childhood memoir, “A Beginner’s Guide To Acting English “, her best-selling literary debut.

Shaparak’s career has taken her to all corners of the globe. Furthermore, she has appeared on countless TV and radio shows, including:

• Mock The Week
• 8 Out Of 10 Cats
• Have I Got News For You
• QI
• Just a Minute
• The News Quiz
• Loose Ends
• Quote…Unquote

In 2009, she hosted her own four-part series, Shappi Talk, on BBC Radio 4, examining what it’s like growing up in multi-cultural families.

In November 2017, Khorsandi appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

She is proud of being a “spit & sawdust” stand-up comedian, and some of her favourite things are pulling on her wellies, trudging through muddy fields, and performing at every music festival which has a comedy tent – from Glastonbury to the Secret Garden Party.

Khorsandi received an honorary doctorate from Winchester University for her contribution to the arts. She has also received the prestigious James Joyce Award from Dublin University.

Shaparak has performed on the iconic television & live show for Amnesty International – The Secret Policeman’s Ball, as well as several Live At The Apollo series and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow series.

Her screenwriting debut was in the form of Sky’s Little Cracker.

Shaparak Khorsandi is available for corporate stand-up performances and awards hosting.

Diversity and Inclusion and Mental Health Keynote Speaker

As a keynote speaker, Shaparak can deftly handle the most serious subjects with a sprinkling of humour – a skill perfected in her early stand-up shows.

Drawing on her past experiences as a female comic breaking into a male-dominated industry, Shaparak is a popular speaker on topics surrounding diversity and inclusion and mental health. Her charmingly candid style combined with her sharp-as-a-tack delivery ensures that she never fails to connect with an audience, whether speaking virtually or in person.

Defining Diversity and Embracing Cultural Difference:

The drive for diversity can sometimes make workplace people panic and scramble around to grab the nearest brown person and plonk them in a group photo. Very often, Shaparak has been that brown person. But diversity is not about tokenistic representation, and the conversation surrounding it must be had much earlier and at every level of an organisation.

Rather than just paying lip service to diversity, we need to discuss what it really means, why it is so important and how we can truly embrace the concept to produce beneficial and equitable outcomes for all.

Mental Health and Wellbeing:

In a deeply personal and illuminating talk, Shaparak takes the audience on a captivating journey from the 90s to the present, revealing her struggles with bulimia and anxiety disorders and the tools and techniques she developed to cope with and overcome these issues. With candour, warmth and humour, she will explain how we could all improve our lives dramatically if we paid a little more attention to maintaining our mental well-being.

A Woman in a Man’s World: Uncovering Everyday Sexism:

As one of just a handful of women in the 90s trying to break into a stand-up comedy industry dominated by bombastic men, Shaparak knows all too well what it feels like to be a woman in a man’s world.

For every woman in any sector, it can be a quiet, personal terrain to navigate. Sexism can be the most complex ‘ism’ to call out and challenge because it can come from your closest quarters and exist within your family and friendship circle. In this honest and personal talk, Shaparak will examine how women and men can work together to remove the barriers constructed by past prejudice and shine a hopeful light on changing the status quo.