"Contentious": Comedian Ria Lina talks stand-up special, sexism, and life in The Hague
Comedian Ria Lina is every bit as blunt, direct, and engaging when she sits down for interviews as she is as a performer. Known for her appearances on television shows like Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, and Have I Got News For You, the Filipina-British comic openly discusses jokes her audiences may consider to be "contentious," how her adult diagnosis of autism has shaped her distinctive comedic voice, and that it has enabled the 38-year-old to "say the things that everyone thinks but no one will say."
In an insightful interview on the Dam Yankee podcast ahead of her upcoming tour and a December show in Utrecht, she shares details of her unique personal journey, from her childhood attending an American school in The Hague, to her life as a successful comedian sharing a London home with her ex-husband and their children. She provides a look into the mind of a comic who fearlessly tackles controversial topics, from political incorrectness to gender bias in the entertainment industry.
Even with a new radio series debuting this week on BBC Radio, Ria Lina Gets Forensic, she is no stranger to the biases women face in the entertainment industry. She tells Dam Yankee host Zack Newmark about unequal treatment in television, where male comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano can have multiple sitcoms based on their stand-up careers, but a show about a female comic is seen as a done deal after just one successful series, like “Hacks.” This is a form of “subconscious bias against gender,” a double standard that limits opportunities for women in comedy, Lina said on Dam Yankee, produced in partnership with NL Times.
This subconscious bias, combined with the often-controversial nature of her jokes, has led to significant backlash. In fact, the title of her recent stand-up special, Riabellion, is a direct response to the critics and the need to push back against a system that wants to limit her. She remains steadfast in her belief that comedy is meant to be provocative and honest, regardless of the criticism it may attract.
Her straight-forward attitude leads her to make jokes other comedians often avoid telling in public. She drew attention on social media for comparing life at an American school in the Netherlands versus life at a school in the U.S. "For example, here, because we're in the Netherlands, we have things like books, and nobody ever got shot," she said. "It's getting quite bad over there. In fact, I understand it's gotten so bad, they've had to ban abortion just to have enough kids to shoot."
Lina fully owns her stage personae, and is not afraid of bothering people, and refuses to back down. "I don't pull my punches. I'm only punching, I'm not shooting," she continues. Kidding aside, she said she was proud of one recent review from an Edinburgh Fringe Festival performance that praised her for mocking anything and anyone. "They said that normally you expect, know, comedy tends to be very left wing, generally speaking. And I, as a satirical comedian, try and keep myself off the political spectrum in order to be able to, you know, shoot in all directions."
Looking at her resume, one can easily forget that she is a sought-after comic. She has a bachelor degree in experimental pathology, a master in forensic science, and earned her doctorate in virology. It took a few years into her career working in forensics at the British government's Serious Fraud Office before she set foot on stage.
"We didn't know I was autistic at this point and it just wasn't working for me," she told Newmark. "I couldn't get my head around the hierarchy," she continued. "Listening to, or having to do what someone above me was telling me to do even though they were less qualified than I was [just] because they'd been in the job longer."
Describing that as "one hint" that she was not meant for office life, Lina began considering how she could become her own boss instead. Already dabbling in comedy, she also picked up on the words of one manager who helped her book gigs. "They passed me around to managers, and the last one said, 'Ria, you have this tendency to create a vortex around you, and people get dragged in whether they want to be or not.' I think that was the other clue. I was like, 'I am meant to be the center of attention. I get this.'"
Lina frequently returns to the Netherlands, where her parents still reside. Having spent so much time there, she still sees the country from a local's perspective. "It's a great place to gig," Lina said. "I've been back a few times to gig there and they have a great sense of humor."
Throughout the rest of the Dam Yankee episode, she speaks extensively about the "double-edged sword" of television appearances, the unequal treatment women often face in the entertainment industry, and the book she has just started to write. Lina does not yet call herself a celebrity, but her goal is for that book to appear on the front tables of major bookstores. Listen to this entire episode of Dam Yankee wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the full videos on YouTube.
Ria Lina will head out on the Riabellion tour later this fall, and will take the stage in Utrecht on December 14, with ticket prices starting at 20 euros. She has plans to book more performances in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and her former hometown of The Hague. Lina releases updates on her website, her Instagram account, and her new WhatsApp channel.
