Described by her peers as “foul-mouthed” (while onstage, of course), Bali-based funny lady Annie Yang is already a fixture of the country’s comedy scene and beyond. Having successfully performed her stand-up special Whore 101 (more about the title later) last year in Bali, Annie is taking the show to Jakarta this weekend.
I sat down for a chat with Annie on Monday after a weekly group rehearsal with fellow funny folks. I subjected her to a rapid-fire Q and A to get her insights on various topics. Buckle up, folks and hold on to your buttcheeks!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
That I am a whore (fellow comedian Ondrey Moscow, who was at the rehearsal earlier that day, suddenly interrupted us and said, “lesbiaaaan.” Annie and I laughed so hard that we needed to compose ourselves before continuing the interview).
Well, like he said, a lesbian and a whore. Always, like, sleep around. I’m an introvert [in real life], you know me! After a show, I’d just sit in a corner. In Indonesian, we say, pertunjukan bukan kehidupan (it’s just a show, not real life).
Have you ever gotten tired of being introduced as a “female comedian”?
Kind of. I mean, I’m a comedian, and (Annie clears her throat) better than some male comedians (we chuckled). Why can’t I get introduced, like, “She’s a comedian!” without the “female”? Yeah, I get it, stand-up comedy is, like, a male-dominated area but, come on, let’s start staying “a comedian” – no need to say gender.
Tell us one joke of yours that always kills.
The fucking role play: Assa’alamu’alaikum, Mister. Always kills. (We asked Annie to elaborate here just in case you haven’t heard it).
The bit is like this: Me and my man want to spice things up in the bedroom. So we try a bit of roleplay. We discuss scenarios and we choose the classic one: Teacher and Student. He’s like, “Babe, you still have your highschool uniform with you, right?” And I’m like, “Yes, I do.” He’s like, “I want you to wear that when you come to my place.”
The day comes and I wear the uniform, go to his place, knock on the door. He opens his door and that’s… that’s when I realize that this man (who is a foreigner) has never seen an Indonesian school uniform before. In his mind, it’s Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time. Instead, I went to his place wearing a long-sleeve white shirt, a skirt down to my ankles, a big ass backpack, and a hijab.
As soon as he opens the door, I kiss his hand and say, “Assalamualaikum, Mister.”
Always kills.
Is there a joke that, in the past, would kill, but now if you tell it again, maybe it’s not funny anymore? You know, something that doesn’t age well.
Um… not a full set. But it’s kind of like a tagline to a previous set. The Malaysia Airlines joke. I said something like: “Lion Air: We Make People Fly. And then what? Landing is not guaranteed?”
When I wrote this bit, I was like: You know what, there should be a Malaysia Airlines joke there somewhere. But I just couldn’t find it. And I feel like I’ve lost some of you here. I’ll just let that sink in.
Yeah… I feel like the reason it doesn’t age well is because nowadays no one reads the news and it’s already, like, decades, right? It’s already a long time ago. So people have kinda forgotten about it. So I’m like: read the news, people! (I whispered: Yeah, read Coconuts. Annie says, “Yesss!”)
A lot of comedians take their trauma and dark moments and make it into something funny – but is it possible to make something out of positive experiences?
It is possible. Because in a way, stand-up comedy is like storytelling, right? And yeah, it’s funnier if you talk about your childhood traumas but it is possible to make something positive out of it. Because you just want to share the story. As long as it’s funny, why not?
Your favorite shows that you have done so far?
My favorite show so far was my gig in Brunei Darussalam. So in Brunei, if you want to have a legal show you need to submit your set to be inspected by The Sultan and the police. In your set, you can’t talk about religion, politics, sex, LGBT and all that. And so, I got this gig, like a “hush-hush” secret gig. The show was in someone’s backyard.
The driver dropped me off at this neighborhood complex without telling me which house I should go to for my gig. I tried to call the show manager and I was, like, should I knock at everyone’s door? In my mind, it was a secret show, so I could not reveal that I’m doing a comedy show. So I was like, should I knock at random and say, “Hi there! Did you order some Chinese?” The guy got out of his house and I said, “This is so fucked up. I love it.”
I wasn’t the only comedian at that show. But I was the only female comedian who’s from Indonesia. The other comedians were from London and Scotland. There’s no airport in Brunei so we had to land at the Malaysian part of Borneo and rode a car. As we got into the border, the immigration woman officer asked for our passports and I was the only one with that green passport.
I think she took a look at us and wondered, “Three European guys and one Indonesian girl? What’s going on here?”
What’s the biggest difference between delivering comedy bits in Indonesian and in English?
One big difference is the culture. Stand-up comedy is quite new in Indonesia – it’s only been like 10 years since Stand-Up Comedy Indonesia started. Indonesian audiences are getting better but they used to be spoon fed with all the jokes. If you notice, a lot of Indonesian comics explain their jokes before going to the punchline.
But with an English audience you can be just like, subtle. Reading between the lines, the audience will get it. Indonesian? Takes time.
What’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever received and from who?
I’m not going to say my family because they don’t say anything (laughs). They’re, like, “Why are you still doing comedy?”
The biggest compliment, I’d say, is from the audience. And from the men that I’m going out with. Because, I don’t know, it’s interesting because I’d rather someone say that I’m funny than cute. If I perform in one show and people are like, “Oh, you look so cute, tonight!” That’s like saying I’m not funny, right? A backhanded compliment.
Biggest comedy influence?
There are some comedians that I see as my role models.
John Mulaney, I love his delivery and his writing. Just so clean from beginning to end. Even though it seems like different stories, it still has that red string that connects them.
And also Anthony Jeselnik, no matter how dark his set is, it’s always funny. There are some comedians that use shock values just for the sake of offending people. You can’t do that. Jeselnik doesn’t do that. The funny part has to be more than the offensive part.
Those two are the main comedians that I take as role models.
For female comedians, Taylor Tomlinson. She’s good. She has this tight set, every time.
When did you say to yourself, “Okay, I’m going to pursue comedy”?
It was the first time I did stand up in Taiwan. In Taiwan, they had this comedy club and I always went there as an audience member. I made friends with the comedians there. As we hung out outside comedy and got to know each other, at one of the open mics the host suddenly called out my name. I had no preparation at all. I spent two minutes roasting the comedians before me and then just retelling some stories that are quite funny.
I was like, “Okay, I like this.” At that time people laughed and enjoyed themselves. Okay, this is the love and validation that I need. (At this we both laughed – so relatable). Cheaper than therapy!
Favorite TV shows?
Community. It’s my comfort show. Aside from that, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Will there ever be room for non-mainstream comedians? Like LGBT comedians?
I believe Indonesia is slowly progressing. Even though there are still conservative people, the newer generation is more open toward changing. I think, maybe not soon, but slowly there will always be room for non-mainstream comedians.
Favorite venue in Indonesia to perform at so far?
There is this one venue that is close to my heart: Ketawa Comedy Club in Jakarta. I know Mo Sidik (fellow Indonesian comedian). When I moved to Jakarta, that venue became a second home for comedians. They closed for three to four months and then the pandemic happened. This year, they’re rebranding and moving locations.
Favorite venue abroad?
Crackhouse (Comedy Club in Kuala Lumpur). But again, it’s closed. You know what happened, right? (I didn’t, to be honest, so Annie told me the story. If you want to know what went down, Coconuts Kuala Lumpur covered the story here and updated it here).
Would you open your own venue one day?
I am a lazy bitch (We both laughed here. Lazy Bitch is actually a good bar name. Like Karen’s Diner).
I don’t mind helping out because I also did that when I was in Taiwan. My ex at the time was the owner of the club. I also did it for Ketawa. But to open my own venue, that’s an interesting idea but it’s just too much responsibility. Executions… a lot of stress.
I want to live a stress-free life. I’m a lazy bitch and I’m a big procrastinator.
Current Indonesian comedians who are active but fly under most people’s radar?
I would say Erwin Wu (Comika). I’ve seen some clips of him. He’s a really funny man.
What about from abroad?
Rizal van Geyzel. He’s the co-founder of the Crackhouse Comedy Club. He’s a really good comedian. It’s just so sad what happened to Crackhouse.
Aside from him, also check out Sam See. He’s an openly gay comedian from Singapore. You know how Singapore is, right?
What about ones to watch in the future?
Kauten Jehnsen, he’s going to open my show. He’s the Chinese Bo Burnham… less talented, though (laughs). Also Guntur.
(NOTE: These two perform often in Bali)
Congrats on Whore 101 Part 2 in Jakarta . What to expect this time?
I always have my special around Valentine’s Day. I did it first in February 2022 in Bali. Police came to my show. At the time it was still the PPKM (Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities). They came for a mask raid. I did the show at Deus Cafe. The police officers came from the back and it kind of disrupted the energy. Deus did remind us to have masks nearby just in case.
The energy went down and I needed to do something. I wore my mask on stage and said, “Okay, do I need to suck a police officer’s dick so I can finish my special?”
Hopefully, no police come this time. Or ormas (mass organizations).
Actually, Whore 101 is a way for me to make peace with my last relationship, which was not a healthy one. Should’ve seen those red flags but I’m colorblind. It was really a toxic relationship but I did not realize it when I was in it. I only realized after I got out of it and started therapy.
My ex called me names such as “cheating whore” even though he was the one who cheated. So, I was like, you know what I’m going to reclaim the name and be the biggest, funniest whore of all. Empowering yourself, you know, it’s good.
What was the cringiest moment you ever experienced?
I opened a show at this Greek restaurant and no one paid attention. I bombed. I don’t think the restaurant promoted the show. There were some people there but they were there for dinner and not to watch us. I wanted the earth to swallow me whole. I just had to endure it.
What’s the downside of being a woman in this business?
It’s hard being a male comedian. Double that when you’re a female comedian. Especially when talking about topics such as sex and relationships. People would think, like, “Oh, she talks about this. I can just swoop in.” That actually happened three or four weeks ago at a show at Fat Mermaid and sadly that was not the first time I got harassed after a set.
The week after that I hosted another open mic at Fat Mermaid and I was still traumatized when a guy came to me and complimented my jokes. But then I got angry because he followed it by saying, “Because, let’s face it, women cannot take jokes, let alone make one.” I held myself from saying, “Well, your mom made you.”
But there’s gotta be upsides, right?
The upside is: when you prove yourself, the reward is bigger. Again, what I did with my special, with the theme around it. As a woman in this world with sexism and misogynistic assholes, when you can take that and reclaim that power, it is not only rewarding to yourself but also feels good in a way.
I am kind of proud of myself because I have had some girls come up to me and say they’re trying comedy because of what I did. One girl said to me, “The first time I saw you, I could not believe there was a brave Indonesian girl that tackles taboo subjects like sex.”
She’s Indonesian too, by the way. Sex is still taboo in Indonesia. I talk about it so openly but not only that, I make it funny and I also put my experience into it. And that’s what made her try comedy.
And when I heard that, not only from one girl, I was like, “Yeah, I’m a role model. A bad role model. But still a role model.”
Who would you say are your mentors in comedy?
I don’t really have someone who I call a comedy mentor but there are some people I sometimes ask for an opinion on my set. Reggy Hasibuan, he’s a really good comedy buddy. Mo Sidik also helps me in a way. And recently, Ernest Prakasa.
What can we do to improve the Indonesian comedy scene?
We need to make it a safe space for comedians. If a comedian feels safe in the community, it will motivate them to be better. If we’re hostile to each other, it’s not good. As a community, as people with the same interests and passion, we need to embrace each other. Yes, it’s like a competition in a way – Who’s funnier? Who gets more gigs? But we’re still a community.
Annie Yang’s Whore 101 is on Feb. 11 at 7pm at Kunci Rumah Entertainment, Kemang. Regular tickets IDR150K. Get yours here.
