Emmanuel Sonubi is a London-based comic whose comedy career started in 2015. Emmanuel had always enjoyed making people laugh, but becoming a comedian was not his plan. His career took him on many paths, including working as a bouncer, a musical theatre star, and in IT. But this changed when Emmanuel’s friend convinced him to participate in an open mic night after a few drinks, and he has not looked back since. Now Emmanuel is a 2022 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee. He recently appeared on Apprentice ‘You’re Fired’ and headlined Live at the Apollo. His latest comedy endeavour is a UK tour where he will perform his show ‘Curriculum Vitae’ in cities such as Brighton and London from April to June 2024. In a recent interview, the favoured comedian shared details about his upcoming tour.
Tell me about your show, ‘Curriculum Vitae’. What can the audience expect?
“It is just about my working history. And all the things I learned from a professional working environment that I could take to the stage. It’s a fun glue to have the show around.”
You plan to discuss all of the jobs you had before comedy in your show; were there any that were particularly bad or funny?
“I used to be a barber, and on my first day, because I didn’t fully know what I was doing, I managed to slice my thumb open with a cutthroat razor. But because I didn’t want anyone to know, I just stuck my hand in my pocket and waited patiently, bleeding down my leg, waiting for the guy to get the hell out of my chair so I could go to A&E! At the time, it was stressful. I could feel blood dripping down my leg, and that’s the thing: if you look at guys after they have had their haircut, they spend more time looking in the mirror at that haircut than they do having their hair cut.”
Was it hard to transition from your past jobs into comedy?
“No, it wasn’t. That’s what made me think this was the right way to go. Because of all the jobs that I had done, this one didn’t feel challenging in the same way. The things that were hard in other jobs, like travelling and commuting. All of those things blew away because of how much I love doing this.”
Have you been involved in musical theatre?
“That’s what I studied at college. That’s why I had so many jobs afterwards. Because when you work in theatre, there’s not always a contract, so you have to do any other job to make ends meet. So, I think that’s why I have ended up doing many jobs outside of the art. So I can support my love for doing the art. The fact that I had done theatre made it easier to be on stage.”
What made you want to bring your show to Brighton?
“I love Brighton, and there’s going to be material that I do in Brighton that I won’t do anywhere else purely because of my experiences in Brighton. I am looking forward to it because you get to share it with people who know what you are talking about because they have been in that situation. Brighton has a great comedy scene, and The Forge is a brilliant club.”
Emmanuel Sonubi: Curriculum Vitae is coming to The Forge in Brighton on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
