Emmanuel Sonubi: Punchlines, podcasts and pain

It turns out Emmanuel Sonubi’s new show, Life After Near Death, is a bit more than the average stand-up performance. It’s a raw, unfiltered look at an experience of heart failure and his journey back to the stage. “Absolutely not,” he says with a laugh when asked if he’s comfortable with the sense of vulnerability that inevitably accompanies talking about the episode. “That’s what we do comedy for - so we can hide. There’s a lot that I’ve touched on in the show, but it’s not easy to be open. I don’t like it. It’s uncomfortable and that takes some getting used to.”

Sonubi is the last person you’d pick out of a line-up to suffer a heart attack. He’s always appeared healthy and clearly spends a lot of time in the gym, which is a lesson in not judging stuff by first appearances. The former door supervisor has always seemed so confident and in control of his surroundings. Not the type to share what it’s like to face losing everything.

“Comedy was a way to make sense of things that didn’t always make sense.”

There’s plenty to suggest the new show marks an evolution in his craft, from offering pithy observations about modern Britain to something more confessional. If anything, this compelling story of processing something that’s no joking matter is inspiring its audience. “The first version of this show that I wrote was very much directed inwards. But now it’s turned round to show people that, no matter what they’re going through, they don’t have to feel alone.”

Sonubi’s journey to the spotlight was anything but linear. Raised in a bustling London household, he learned early that humour could be both shield and sword. “Comedy was a way to make sense of things that didn’t always make sense,” he recalls.  

While his influences include greats like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Victoria Wood, his own mother taught him the art’s most valuable lesson - that the best comedy is rooted in truth. “She was the funniest person I knew. She could make anyone laugh, even on their worst day. I think I got a lot of my sense of humour from her.”

Sonubi’s act isn’t just about catharsis and his health; he wants to find the common ground we share. “I never talk politics. I’m not a traditional political comedian. But... a friend of mine made me realise that you may not talk politics, but some of the things you do talk about are political. Just because you don’t put a party around it, doesn’t mean it’s not political.”

“There’s no part of this job that I’ll ever mind.”

That willingness to deftly hop over the lines that divide us has enabled him to become one of the fastest rising stars on the stand-up circuit. This autumn sees his biggest tour yet, with dates being booked right into next year and seats selling fast. “We’re already about 45% of the tickets sold for this one, and we’re still a few months out before we start. I keep getting messages from people saying, ‘When are you coming to Cambridge?’ So we’ll add Cambridge onto it as well...”

He says the whole process of travelling his show around the nation is both a privilege and a challenge. “I love touring now. There’s no part of this job that I’ll ever mind. It is a dream…”

But the grind is real: long hours, unpredictable crowds, and the constant pressure to deliver. Although there are just as many perks. “I remember last year, going down to Brighton. It was so much fun. I’m looking forward to coming back. And then there are places like Maidstone and Crawley… just such good crowds.”

The recent brush with mortality seems to have made him pay even more attention to human behaviours and how we interact. And you just know that’ll somehow feed back into his work. “How much do we hide from other people?” he reflects. Incisively, it seems to be a thread running through much of his comedy. “You start to see things you thought you’d blocked out, and you really start to have to process a lot of emotions and feelings you didn’t know were still in there.”

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For Sonubi, comedy can be a space to manifest healing, for himself and the audience. “Sometimes people come up to me after a show and say, ‘I laughed, but I also cried.’ That’s the best compliment I can get. It means the material hit home, that it meant something.” He’s quick to point out that filling a room with laughter isn’t some kind of magic bullet. “Obviously, it doesn’t fix everything. But it helps. It helps you process, helps you connect, helps you heal. And sometimes, that’s enough.”

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"You just start talking and see what happens.”

Beyond the stage, Sonubi has found a new outlet in podcasting. The medium’s conversational nature has allowed some exceptional banter. Together with The Traitors star, Kieran Tompsett, he hosts Secrets and Sabotage – a show dedicated to intrigue, mystery, and unexpected twists. “It’s a lot of fun. Plus, it’s very unfiltered, because you don’t plan. You just start talking and see what happens. It makes it a lot more honest.” It was born out of shared curiosity and a desire to explore new subjects. “I’d like to do some more. But, it’s down to trying to carve out the time to do it.”

To understand Sonubi’s comedy is to understand the journey that brought him here. Born and raised in London, his early life was marked by both joy and hardship. “I grew up in a big family, and there was always noise, always laughter, but also challenges,” he recalls. “Comedy was a way to cope, to make sense of things that didn’t always make sense.”

The path to the stage wasn’t straightforward. There’s no stage school and a chance encounter with a BBC comedy producer. He’s worked a series of jobs (some more rewarding than others) before finally taking the plunge into stand-up. “I always loved making people laugh, but I never thought I could do it as a job. It wasn’t until I got up at an open mic night, just to see what would happen, that I realised this was what I wanted to do.”

For Sonubi, comedy is more than casual entertainment. It’s almost a form of liberation. “There’s something powerful about being able to laugh at the things that scare us, the things that hurt. It’s a way of taking control, of saying, ‘This doesn’t define me.’”

This philosophy underpins his approach to both life and art. “I think we all have things we’re afraid to talk about, things we hide. But when you put them out there, when you make them part of the story, they lose some of their power over you.”

His no-nonsense humility has endeared Sonubi to audiences across the country. As his star rises, Sonubi is increasingly aware of the example he sets for younger comedians and fans. “I want people to know that it’s OK to be themselves, to be honest about what they’re going through. You don’t have to pretend everything’s perfect. In fact, it’s the imperfections that make us interesting.” He encourages aspiring comedians to find their own voice. “Don’t try to be someone else. Tell your story. That’s what people want. And don’t be afraid to fail. Every comedian bombs sometimes. It’s part of the process.”

Looking to the future, Sonubi is both ambitious and grounded. “I want to keep growing, keep learning, keep making people laugh. I’d love to do more TV, more podcasts, maybe even write a book one day. But mostly, I just want to keep doing what I love.” While he’s excited about the possibilities, he remains mindful of the present. Right now, he is overwhelmingly grateful for the audiences’ faith in him. And the chance to do what he clearly loves.

“Our whole lives are a process.”

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Sonubi has never struggled with authenticity, but he seems to be moving into the next stage of his career with a show hinged upon universal truths. Perhaps recent experiences have encouraged him to look closer at what makes us human; how we deal with hope, fear, success, and adversity. He’s moved from using comedy as a defence to wielding it as a tool.  

As Sonubi’s profile has grown, so too has his influence. For many fans, he is more than just a comedian - he is a role model, a source of inspiration and hope. It’s a responsibility he does not take lightly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever really complete. Our whole lives are a process, aren’t they? Once you stop learning, then you’re wasting time and living in ignorance, as far as I’m concerned.”

Emmanuel Sonubi brings Life After Near Death to Maidstone’s Hazlitt Theatre on Wed 17 Sept, Faversham’s The Alex on Wed 1 Oct, Brighton’s Forge on Thu 2 Oct, North Finchley’s Arts Depot on Sat 4 Oct, Hove’s The Old Market on Fri 7 Nov, London’s Leicester Square Theatre on Sat 8 Nov, Canterbury’s Gulbenkian on Sun 9 Nov, Crawley’s Hawth Theatre Studio on Thu 27 Nov, as part of 2025’s UK tour.            

www.emmanuelstandup.com  

All images by Jiksaw

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