Yuriko Kotani

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

Yuriko Kotani, Glastonbury Festival, 2019

Early life and career

Born and raised in Japan,[7] Kotani moved to the UK in 2005 aged 24 and began performing stand-up in 2014.[4]

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.[8]

She was named as "One To Watch" by Time Out in 2015.[9] She went on to become first runner-up in So You Think You're Funny 2015?,[10] won the Brighton Comedy Festival Squawker Award 2015,[11] placed third in the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year 2015,[12] and was nominated for Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2016.[13]

On the radio, Kotani has been interviewed on The Comedy Club on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[14]

Kotani has made a number of appearances on British television. In 2016, Kotani appeared on series 2 of Russell Howard's Stand Up Central.[15]

In March 2017, Kotani made her TV acting debut in the BBC Three series, Pls Like.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

References
  1. "BBC - BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2015 winner announced - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  2. British Comedy Guide (20 November 2015). "Yuriko Kotani wins BBC New Comedy Award - News - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Yuriko Kotani scoops BBC New Comedy Award : News 2015 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. Wortley, Kathryn (11 May 2020). "Yuriko Kotani embraces Britain's penchant for irony and dark comedy". The Japan Times. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. Dessau, Bruce (16 January 2018). "Go underground and get giggling at Vault Festival 2018". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. "For one night only: how Edinburgh's standups spend their day off". the Guardian. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  7. "Feature: 'In Japan, if you do something different, people won't like it'". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  8. Osumi, Magdalena (25 November 2015). "Japanese woman wins BBC newcomer comedy award". The Japan Times. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  9. "One to watch: Yuriko Kotani". Time Out London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  10. "So You Think You're Funny | Gilded Balloon". gildedballoon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. "Jill Edwards | Comic Boom Comedy Club | Komedia Brighton | Seann Walsh". jill-edwards.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  12. "What's On - New Comedian of the Year - Museum of Comedy". www.leicestersquaretheatre.com. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  13. "Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival". www.comedy-festival.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015.
  14. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Comedy Club Interviews, 20/03/2016". BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  15. "Stand Up Central - Comedy Central Stand-Up - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  16. "Pls Like Series 1, Episode 5 - Technology - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  17. "Yuriko Kotani - Random 8". British Comedy Guide. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  18. THE SOUTHAMPTON DNA: Saints unveil 2021/22 home kit in partnership with hummel, retrieved 4 September 2021
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