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]
![](../I/Yuriko_Kotani_2019_Glastonbury_Festival_03_crop.jpg.webp)
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
- "BBC - BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2015 winner announced - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- British Comedy Guide (20 November 2015). "Yuriko Kotani wins BBC New Comedy Award - News - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- 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.
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has generic name (help) - Wortley, Kathryn (11 May 2020). "Yuriko Kotani embraces Britain's penchant for irony and dark comedy". The Japan Times. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- Dessau, Bruce (16 January 2018). "Go underground and get giggling at Vault Festival 2018". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- "For one night only: how Edinburgh's standups spend their day off". the Guardian. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- "Feature: 'In Japan, if you do something different, people won't like it'". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- Osumi, Magdalena (25 November 2015). "Japanese woman wins BBC newcomer comedy award". The Japan Times. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- "One to watch: Yuriko Kotani". Time Out London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "So You Think You're Funny | Gilded Balloon". gildedballoon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "Jill Edwards | Comic Boom Comedy Club | Komedia Brighton | Seann Walsh". jill-edwards.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "What's On - New Comedian of the Year - Museum of Comedy". www.leicestersquaretheatre.com. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival". www.comedy-festival.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015.
- "BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Comedy Club Interviews, 20/03/2016". BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "Stand Up Central - Comedy Central Stand-Up - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "Pls Like Series 1, Episode 5 - Technology - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- "Yuriko Kotani - Random 8". British Comedy Guide. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- THE SOUTHAMPTON DNA: Saints unveil 2021/22 home kit in partnership with hummel, retrieved 4 September 2021