Filipina comedian, actress and writer Ria Lina makes a welcome return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with 'Riabellion', her first full run in nine years.
From Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, News Quiz, Live at the Apollo, Pointless and more, Ria is a force in the world of comedy and entertainment. Expect a relentless stream of hilarity as Ria explores the delight of throwing life up in the air after years of following the rules.
Ria has finally realised that she is ready to rebel as she hates the world… It doesn’t work for her and none of it makes sense. Why do we do all the things we do? One of the first comedians ever to talk about autism, she finally feels that she can ask for things to be done her way.
Riabellion explores the idea of individuality vs conformity and intelligence vs stupidity through Ria’s (autistic) lense. We are in an age of celebrating the individual but at the same time the world doesn’t work for anyone right now. Perhaps now, at the height of celebrating our individual differences Ria wonders if it’s time to conform in order to make the progress we SHOULD be making as a society.
She has a BSc in Experimental Pathology, an MSc in Forensic Science and a PhD in Virology under her belt, so it’s not only Ria’s comedy that’s highly intelligent. A regular pundit on Sky News, BBC News, Times Radio and TalkRadio, Ria is in demand for her scientific insight, confident delivery and biting wit.
Ria can be heard on her forthcoming R4 series Ria Lina Gets Forensic. Ria has taken five shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, tackling topics such as current affairs, racial identity, political correctness, and parenthood. Her career stretches from stage and screen, to radio and the occasional ukulele – all in a unique style.
She has written for the Ladyboys of Bangkok ‘Fantasy & Feathers’ and ‘Glamorous Amorous’ tours. She has also written/presented her own Channel 4 documentary that revealed the truth behind the myths that surround East Asian women in Britain.
Ria Lina’s show ‘Riabellion’ will be at the Monkey Barrel Cabaret Voltaire at 2.25pm from July 28 - August 24. Tickets here.
What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren’t sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth)
I like to vibe to the playlist. My best gigs are when a great tune is playing right before I go on. So when I’m on tour I curate the whole list so that I’m ready to roll when it’s showtime. I have sometimes started late because I’m too busy waiting for the chorus of whatever is playing so I can sing along, or even worse, come on singing and made the audience wait while I croon the tune. Cringe.
What irritates you?
People who say “I’m the kind of person who…” because they are ironically the least self-aware people I have ever met. Are you the kind of person who doesn’t sees colour? Are you? Well I do, and it’s red.
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
Gosh I am so boring, I’m autistic I follow rules! But that said I am also a comic, and I’m happy to shout at people if they stand on the left of the escalator - even if I’m not in London.
I think the most dangerous thing I did, which was out of necessity, was accept a lift from a stranger at a train station in the middle of nowhere. To start from the beginning, I had a gig in the country. Where exactly it was I can’t remember anymore, but it was definitely ‘the country’ because when I disembarked at the station it was just a small brick house on the side of a winding country road that had no pavements. That only ever happens in the country. It was around 7pm and although late spring, it was starting to get dark. My plan had been to grab a taxi at the station to the gig, and failing that, walk. It was only a mile to the gig, and had the road had pavements, it would have been achievable. But getting dark, no pavements, winding road, no taxis AND no phone signal. I was screwed.
The only other person at the station was a man who worked for the railways. He had just finished tightening the tracks or whatever it is that they do, and was about to leave when he realised that I was lost/in trouble and offered to drive me into town. I had little choice so I accepted, because was far too dangerous to walk. I did record his license plate and grilled him in the car about everything I could about him and texted it to my sister in case I went missing, knowing the text would go through before he could dispose of my phone cause he wouldn’t realise I had done it. I was banking on the fact that because he worked for the railways the police could figure out that he was there at around the time I went missing, making him suspect number 1, that he was less likely to do anything to me.
As it was, he was perfectly lovely, dropped me at my gig, and I’ve never heard or seen him again. Nor have any other women gone missing from that station (as far as I know).
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
Married a man cause he had abs. That is NOT enough basis for a relationship. Abs are not forever. But trust funds are… round two here I come.
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
The struggle of meritocracy. Networking is king. Nepotism (friend-tism) is paramount. Age is death. There is a lot of great talent out there not getting their dues because they haven’t made the right friends, or they are just plain too old. But OLD IS TALENT. It takes years to get good at this and all networks and streamers are obsessed with are babies. Babies who they pluck out of new act competitions and chuck on TV and then wonder why their viewing rates are declining. Audiences care if it’s GOOD first and foremost. And that tends to come with time. But you can be old and successful, if you have the right friends. Which is a shame, because comedy used to be the haven of all the weird and unique and slightly quirky people who aren’t good at ‘teamwork’, and ‘socialising’, and ‘eye contact’, and now social media, and they just aren’t going to be found sharing a line in the toilets at an awards after party, or chatting pilates after a show in the Soho Theatre Bar. You have to seek them out and then convince them to share their glory, and the more convincing it takes, the more worth it it will be.
BTW can I do a quick shout out to all my producer friends? Love you guys. You’re the best. Thanks so much for all your gifts at my 28th birthday party last week. I’m going to treasure them all. Brunch next week, ya?
What do your parents/children (delete as applicable) think of your job?
My father still asks me if the audience laughed at my jokes. He is now confident enough to sit inside the room while I’m performing, but when I first started gigging in Amsterdam (as an excuse to come home and see my parents), he would wait in the bar outside the room in case people didn’t laugh so he didn’t have to be embarrassed for me in the room. My mother, on the other hand, is deaf and can’t hear anything at a gig, but always insists I was her favourite.
And my children like to eat, so they will accept how I pay for food whether they like it or not.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
There are no holidays. When everyone else is on holiday (Christmas, Bank Holidays, Saturdays) you are working. When everyone else takes a holiday, they get holiday pay. As a self-employed comedian, if you take a night off, you don’t get paid, if you take a holiday (and if you can afford one you are doing VERY well) then not only are you not getting paid to work, you are also paying for the holiday. It’s a double whammy. I have come to treasure Monday mornings as the one bit of quiet in my week as the rest of the rest of the world ‘catches up on their emails’.
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
I feel like I have so much more to learn and grow. I am loving the relationship I have with my audiences right now, but I still have loads more to learn. There is a lot of science to comedy, the wide range of joke types, routine structures, character, performance technique. I am nowhere near as good as I think I could be with more study and work. And with the work will hopefully come more audience to add to my already beautiful bunch.
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
I earn enough money to not be able to live separately from my ex-husband (split up years ago, divorced since 2022). I’d like to be able to earn enough to not live with my ex-husband, but still live with my kids and give them everything I think they deserve to have. But one-beds in London aren’t in my price range, so a 4 bed house for us is still a pipe dream.
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
The world works in trends, when 9/11 happened, as horrific as it was, we saw an increase in visibility of muslim comics as we (quite rightly) wanted and needed to hear from them. I remember often despairing that filipinos never do anything so high profile as to give me my ‘shot’. Then the pandemic happened and I was the only comedian (quel surprise) with a virology degree in my back pocket and suddenly everyone wanted to hear from me. I knew this was my one chance. So I split my time between comedy and science communication till it was over and then focussed on making sure that my comedy appearances were good enough
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into third category?
That might have been the case when Alan started, but I definitely feel that comedians fall into two different categories now: The BCs and ADs. The BCs are those that got their neurodiversity diagnoses Before it was Cool and the ADs are the ones After a Diagnosis. The BCs are similar to golfers in that they just get on with it, but they have been and possibly always will be the caddies, carrying a heavier load than the rest of the group just happy to be accepted (well, tolerated) by them. The ADs are the cool kids who are excited to get diagnosed on Monday, and tell you all about why they can’t do eye contact on Tuesday. It never occurs to them to walk the course with everyone else: there is a golf-cart!
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Zheng Yi Sao. Pirate queen, feminist icon, and the only woman in history to rival an entire empire using nothing but strategic brilliance and a deeply intimidating HR policy. At her peak, she commanded over 70,000 pirates and didn’t just survive in a man’s world, she bent it to her will and then charged it docking fees. She stood against the Qing dynasty, the Portuguese navy, and British colonial forces, and she won. She issued a pirate code that included rules against rape and protected women taken captive, centuries before “equality” became a panel topic at Davos. And when she retired, it wasn’t in exile or disgrace, it was with full immunity and a government pension. That’s not just feminism. That’s operational excellence with a side of vengeance. Zheng Yi Sao didn’t just break the glass ceiling, she looted the building and made it her castle.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it’s to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
Ah, this is not a straightforward question. It’s misleading. See drawers are containers, you use them to contain things that go together, so they don’t have to be neat, they have to be logical. That said, I have a drawer that is half sunglasses, half vitamin supplements, and while at first that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, it’s actually a very easy drawer in which to find what I need. I can confidently state that I have never left the house with vitamin C effervescent tablets on my face, or tried to dose myself with a pair of Ray-Bans. So it isn’t about tidiness, it’s about containment. Sure, you can fold shirts in a drawer and it will contain more shirts than if they were messy, I’m not contesting that. But underwear can also be folded - you won’t fit any more of them in the drawer if you do - so why bother? It’s also easier to hide money in messy undies. Shhhh.
Ria Lina’s show ‘Riabellion’ will be at the Monkey Barrel Cabaret Voltaire at 2.25pm from July 28 - August 24. Tickets here.
Picture by Steve Ullathorne
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