Yuriko Kotani Explained

Years Active:2014–present

Yuriko Kotani is a Japanese comedian based in London. She won the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy Award,[1] [2] [3] making her the first Japanese person to win the award. She debuted her solo show Somosomo at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[4] Kotani's comedy makes fun of the cultural differences between England and her homeland of Japan.[5] [6]

Early life and career

Kotani is from Aichi Prefecture.[7] [8] She moved to England in 2005 aged 24 with her then-boyfriend, who had been studying abroad in Japan.[4] She was introduced to and "fell in love with British comedy". She began performing stand-up of her own in 2014.

Breakthrough

In 2015 Kotani was nominated for a number of awards for her comedy. Most notably, in November 2015 she won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award, aged 34.[9]

She was named as "One To Watch" by Time Out in 2015.[10] She went on to become first runner-up in So You Think You're Funny 2015?,[11] won the Brighton Comedy Festival Squawker Award 2015,[12] placed third in the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year 2015,[13] and was nominated for Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2016.[14]

On the radio, Kotani has been interviewed on The Comedy Club on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[15]

Kotani has made a number of appearances on British television. In 2016, Kotani appeared on series 2 of Russell Howard's Stand Up Central.[16]

In March 2017, Kotani made her TV acting debut in the BBC Three mockumentary Pls Like as Nozomi Hottah.[17]

In January 2018, Kotani appeared on the CBBC panel show, The Dog Ate My Homework. In 2020, Kotani appeared in an episode of Paul Hollywood Eats Japan on Channel 4.[18]

In May 2021 she starred alongside Rich Keeble as a scientist extracting DNA from present and former players in a comedy film unveiling Southampton Football Club's new 2021/22 season kit. Players featured in the film included James Ward-Prowse, Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BBC - BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2015 winner announced - Media Centre. www.bbc.co.uk. en-GB. 25 November 2018.
  2. Web site: Yuriko Kotani wins BBC New Comedy Award - News - British Comedy Guide. British Comedy Guide. 20 November 2015. comedy.co.uk. 3 June 2016.
  3. Web site: Yuriko Kotani scoops BBC New Comedy Award : News 2015 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. Solutions. Powder Blue Internet Business. www.chortle.co.uk. en. 25 November 2018.
  4. Web site: Wortley. Kathryn. 11 May 2020. Yuriko Kotani embraces Britain's penchant for irony and dark comedy. 22 November 2021. The Japan Times. en-US.
  5. Web site: Dessau. Bruce. 16 January 2018. Go underground and get giggling at Vault Festival 2018. 23 November 2021. www.standard.co.uk. en.
  6. Web site: 11 August 2019. For one night only: how Edinburgh's standups spend their day off. 23 November 2021. the Guardian. en.
  7. Web site: Yuriko Kotani: the Japanese comedian rising up the ranks of UK stand up. JETAA UK. 22 July 2019. 3 January 2023.
  8. Web site: Feature: 'In Japan, if you do something different, people won't like it'. 22 November 2021. www.scotsman.com. en.
  9. Web site: Osumi. Magdalena. 25 November 2015. Japanese woman wins BBC newcomer comedy award. 23 November 2021. The Japan Times. en-US.
  10. News: One to watch: Yuriko Kotani. Time Out London. 25 November 2018. en.
  11. Web site: So You Think You're Funny Gilded Balloon. gildedballoon.co.uk. en-US. 25 November 2018.
  12. Web site: Jill Edwards Comic Boom Comedy Club Komedia Brighton Seann Walsh. jill-edwards.co.uk. en. 25 November 2018.
  13. Web site: What's On - New Comedian of the Year - Museum of Comedy. www.leicestersquaretheatre.com. en. 25 November 2018.
  14. Web site: Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival . www.comedy-festival.co.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151206053312/http://www.comedy-festival.co.uk/events/show.php?event_id=5371&showdate=2016-02-20&venue=270 . 6 December 2015.
  15. Web site: BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Comedy Club Interviews, 20/03/2016. BBC. en-GB. 25 November 2018.
  16. Web site: Stand Up Central - Comedy Central Stand-Up - British Comedy Guide. British Comedy Guide. en-GB. 25 November 2018.
  17. Web site: Pls Like Series 1, Episode 5 - Technology - British Comedy Guide. British Comedy Guide. en-GB. 25 November 2018.
  18. Web site: 26 May 2020. Yuriko Kotani - Random 8. 23 November 2021. British Comedy Guide. en.

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