In the vibrant world of stand-up comedy, where humor bridges cultures and languages, few stories are as inspiring as a trailblazing Kazakh comedian who turns personal life’s challenges into jokes. From overcoming health struggles to building a successful tech career and pioneering English-language stand-up in Kazakhstan, Shugyla Sagynbekova carved out a unique path. In this interview, she shares her English fluency journey, leap into the world of comedy, as well as evolving scene of English stand-up in Central Asia, exploring resilience, creativity, and the power of laughter.

- How did your journey of learning English begin?

I was a kid with special needs and homeschooled. I have had serious heart and multiple kidney operations since 8 y.o.. In high school I loved listening to Bjork, Sting, David Bowie, and American R&B and was curious about language, but I came from an underprivileged family, and I couldn’t afford to hire a tutor or attend a language center. I loved visiting the local library in my hometown in Karaganda, and eventually ended up at the American Corner, a non-commercial center started by the US Embassy. The volunteers, Fulbright teachers and American students, were very patient and encouraged me to participate in conversation clubs even though I could only say “hi.” That’s how I learned English in practice. Within a couple of years, without courses, I reached a B1 level.

- What inspired you to start performing stand-up comedy in English?

I was working full time in tech and got curious about stand-up. My friends encouraged me. I first tried Russian stand-up in 2021, then performed at an English open mic started by SunProject. A year later, I won an English money mic, a competition between English-speaking comedians. After earning my first money, I realized I could organize it myself. That’s how I started organizing English open mics in November 2023.

- What emotions did you experience during your first performance?

I was nervous. My first English performance was in 2022 and it was quite hilarious. Because I was first in the line-up and after I performed, the host came up on the stage saying it was the best performance of the night and asking people not to leave. It was not ironic, because after the show the audience came up to me, and I’m still in touch with some of them. They love visiting my shows once in a while. I recommend use every opportunity and perform.

- In your opinion, what’s the difference between stand-up comedy in English and Russian?

I’m not very experienced in Russian comedy. I never liked watching popular Russian shows, preferring Kazakh shows like Intellegent Qu, old classic English shows like Monty Python, and Comedy Central. These days I also do love observing how regular Kazakh internet users share the comments in threads, I believe it’s our folk-culture and helps to keep up with the local audience.

- Is stand-up your primary job now or do you balance it with another one?

I combine a part-time job in tech, consulting startups and entrepreneurs, and working as a stand-up producer and performer at the same. It’s challenging but spending the whole day in the office isn't on my plate as well. I love working in communications in tech though, because I’m surrounded by extremely smart people, which I use as a chance to learn something new daily and it helps to write the jokes.

- What did you do before you started performing stand-up in English?

I have built a quite successful career in tech as a PR and communications specialist. Over the last five years, I have worked in companies such as Astana Hub, GoCrowd, Beginit by inDrive, KazDream, and TTC. I was also a TechWomen program finalist, an exchange program started by the US Department. I was selected out of 6,000 applicants from 20 countries and received professional mentorship at Amazon Web Services in the US. Currently, I am Head of Community Experience at nFactorial Club, a business club for founders, investors, and top managers. Overall, it took me becoming a жұрттың баласы first to be able to do the comedy.

- How is the English-language stand-up scene developing here ? How many performers are there, and how many attendees?

Currently, in Kazakhstan we have two English comedy clubs, mine EnglishComedyKz and GoodNight Comedy in Almaty. We don’t compete. On the contrary, we try to support and help each other. In my club, there are 40+ English-speaking comedians. The majority are locals, and some performers are from the USA, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Spain. Usually, 10 to 12 people perform at each show. Around 40 to 60 people attend, which is a quite good result considering that we are still not well known and our cheapest tickets cost KZT 5,000. Interesting, how no city where I performed (Astana, Almaty, Baku) has ever beaten the record of my very first open mic in Karaganda in 2023, when there were 70+ attendees.

- What topics are most commonly discussed in English stand-up?

An English-speaking audience in Astana is well educated, and what I noticed over the last 2 years of organizing 20+ English shows is that they don’t really welcome content based on hate or discrimination. They prefer self-irony, everyday observations, and quite intelligent humor about history, social issues, and similar topics. For example, a comedian might joke that their partner is dumb, but the audience usually doesn’t find it fascinating.

- How would you describe the typical attendee at your shows?

If it’s a local audience, they are mostly 25+ y.o., professionals who have traveled abroad, work at international companies or Big4, and are very aware of global news. If we talk about foreigners, they are slightly older, on average 30+ y.o., and are mostly university or school teachers, diplomats, or senior management at companies. And speaking of foreigners, at least those who attend my shows do love it when I make fun of them a little bit. Probably because Kazakh people usually show them great hospitality and try to please them, which can sometimes feel awkward. It’s exactly the foreign audience who ask me to do shows more frequently, not just once a month. I’m working on that.

- Which jokes do you consider your best and, conversely, not so successful?

At Digital Bridge, where I was an ambassador of the forum and 115 people bought tickets using my promo code, I told my best joke to Timur Turlov. I can’t share it now because I promised my mom not to share it until my Netflix special. Yes, my mom is my number one fan, she doesn’t speak English. I tell her my jokes in Kazakh (I do write them in English, then translate for her). So let’s go with a not-so-successful one: “Harvard Law School had no female toilets until the 1950s, (which you can factcheck). That’s wild, because the Soviets did. Moreover, the Soviets even had female labor camps, because Stalin was a tyrant but not sexist.” Stalin was sexist though, it’s just a bad joke.

- Is there a stand-up comedian you look up to or who inspires you?

Among Kazakh comedians, I look up to Rustam Abildin, who leads Karaganda Comedy in Russian. His humor is intellectual and relevant. Another Kazakh comedian I follow is Nurmakhan Mukanuly. I have been watching him for some time, and since I am planning to do a show in Kazakh in 2026, spoiler alert, his work helps me a lot. Despite some controversial opinions and statements that I don’t support, I watched Joan Rivers because she was pioneering comedy as a woman in the mid-20th century in the US, exactly when Harvard still didn’t have female toilets. Last but not least, Trevor Noah, for sure. He is extremely talented, multilingual.

- How do you deal with the fear of public speaking, especially in a foreign language?

I am the person who started learning the language by participating in speaking clubs when I knew nothing, so the best way to overcome the fear it’s to rehearse and prepare. Comedy is improvisational but to improvise well you have to be smart. I do a lot of research for my jokes and check my grammar as well. My audience from Japan, after I posted my special on YouTube this April, which made me the first Kazakh woman to post a 30-minute English stand-up special online, said that my humor is very data-driven, and they love that. There were 3 times when I was very nervous though. First, when I was performing my first special and the US ambassador was in the audience. Second, before performing in Kazakh, because it is my mother tongue, everything went well, and I can’t thank the audience enough, they were extremely warm. Third, before my special in Baku. I was representing the whole country in English, probably the first female comedian from Kazakhstan ever doing her special in English abroad. And each time, I calmed myself with the thought that I couldn’t turn back and had already gone too far to be afraid of anything. Then I go on stage, talk to people, tell my jokes, and it helps me feel relieved, and I do the show.

Through her experiences, Shugyla Sagynbekova exemplifies how passion, perseverance, and a dash of self-irony can transform obstacles into opportunities. From humble beginnings in a local library to performing specials in English across borders, she not only entertains but also fosters a growing community of diverse comedians in Kazakhstan. As she looks ahead to expanding her shows and even venturing into Kazakh-language comedy, her story reminds us that humor knows no bounds—whether in tech boardrooms, on stage, or in everyday life. With her data-driven wit and multilingual flair, she's undoubtedly a rising star to watch in the global comedy landscape.