“Your existence is an act of politics” Italian stand up comedian and playright Xhuliano Dule only knows it so well.

Our *third Italian-speaking guest is able to claim dual cultural heritage, as he originally comes from Albania across the Adriatic sea. He arrived in l’Italia as a small child on a speedboat with his parents, similar to many of his compatriots who searched for a better life in the 1990s.

Growing up as an immigrant in a rather consevative and not particularly culturally sensitive land, Xhuliano now jokes about the stereotypes that were once imposed on him. He is now the first immigrant comedian that was featured on major Italian comedy TV programme.

Ahead of his book launch and amidst his comedy tour, Xhuliano did this rare interview in English. This deeply political comedian talks about the curious mix in the eyes of Italian audience, that he is an immigrant background what an accent from the Veneto region - one that is considered the rudest and most racist.

He shares how his jokes and his takes on political satire triggered death threats in his DMs, and this intellectual performer explains his observation of the Italian society, how it reflects in the comedy scene and how he decides on his approach to jokes.

*in this episode, your host Kuan-wen Introduced Xhuliano as the second ever Italian speaker on this podcast. It was a mistake. Previous Italian guests include Luca Cupani and Tiziano la Bella

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Follow Xhuliano on Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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00:55 Intro - what kind of people learn Italian these days?

05:31 Growing up in Italy as an Albanian immigrant kid

06:29 An accent associated with the most racist Italian region

08:19 Albanian stereotypes and the film “Taken” (and some other stereotypes)

10:27 Linguistic diversity in Italy and how the Italian language was “chosen” and how almost no one speaks it

15:35 Not visible Albanian heritage

17:14 The Albanian “Invasion” in the 1990s according to Italian newspapers

20:57 Italy not having the same level of cultural sensitivity as the UK; how this is reflected in representation in stand up comedy and Xhuliano’s more aggressive approach addressing racism

27:05 Racist slang (“maranza”) used naming government legislations in Italy

27:44 What the Italian society really means with label “non-EU citizens” (“Extracomunitario”) to substitue “immigrants”

33:51 Context of a joke that that may seem crass (brave gay men during the AIDS crisis in the 80s)

36:19 In hot water for jokes going viral

40:32 When one’s existence is an act of politics

43:38 Conservatism and religion in Italy and the consequent censorship

46:51 Italian’s conjugation and the rhyming opportunities

48:32 Xhuliano’s social media and upcoming book/tour/comedy special (“Remuntada”)

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/comedywithanaccent/ or email comedywithanacc2ent@gmail.com

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Our latest focus on distinct accents on the British isles turns to Northwest England. Our guest Kathryn Mather comes from Rochdale, historically part of Lancashire but now part of Greater Manchester. “Likkle girl down in hospical” - have you heard that one before?

Kathryn was crowned winner of Frog and Bucket World Series in 2017 (Manchester’s prestigious comedy club’s new act competition) and was placed third in Leicester Mercury Comedian of the year in 2019. She and your host Kuan-wen started comedy around the same time and did all those dreadful open mics together, as you can tell from their banters they have known each other for a long time. Kathryn shares why she chose to relocate to Southern England - for the weather! What a shocker - and how the same joke based on Northern stereotypes gets reactions for very different reasons in the south or the north of England.

People still mock her accent. When asked who does so? “The southerners!” The conversation ends on the class divide in the UK and how the comedy industry’s take on working class representation still fails to tackle the structural issues. Kathryn explains why she rarely mentions her working class background - for she feels fraudulent, based on the society’s twisted definition of a working class family. Kathryn also explains how the privilege works for performers from a more affluent background and candidly why she wished she’d never started doing comedy.

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Follow Kathryn on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/beforenowafterthen/

Kathryn’s Historical Hot or Not podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcast

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kuanwencomedy/

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00:49 Why can’t English people speak another language most of the time? Kathryn’s self-defence

08:24 Moving down south from northwest England and losing the accent

10:44 Southerners making fun of Kathryn’s accent

12:58 “Likkle Girl down in hospical”; examples of Lancastrian/Mancunian accents

15:36 Is mocking someone’s accent just (acceptable) banters (if between friends)? Are British bantz mean-spirited?

22:21 “It seems like I am the only act without any accent tonight!”

24:05 London centrism and the North (of England) ignored: how accent hierarchy reflects structural regional disparities in the UK

27:40 How Kathryn accounts for her Northern identity when gigging in different parts of the UK

31:32 The bad press Rochdale is somehow known for

33:41 Why Kathryn chooses not to mention her working-class background often? How she sees the portrayal of being Northern and working class on the comedy scene

42:49 Case in question: In what ways is it tougher for a comedian to make it when they don’t have much money or born with certain privileges

47:30 Some more upbeat final message

50:12 Kathryn’s social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

A year end review based on 2025 Spotify Unwrapped and the podcast platform statistics, released on the penultimate day of 2025!

In case you are not a stats nerd on where the podcast is consumed, this monologue episode also includes a brief discussion on the Bennet scale, also called the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. The framework was developed to analyse how people react to cultural differences and can be a useful tool when someone experiences cultural shocks. Your host came across this framework listening to an *international career coaching podcast (in Mandarin) and interprets this framework as a stand up comedian.

Wrapping up this monologue episodes, your host Kuan-wen shares his observations on changes to comedy rooms after a far-right rally in London.

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Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kuanwencomedy/

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00:32 Intro

03:11 2025 Spotify Unwrapped

07:50 2025 statistics (July to December) from the podcast platform

11:55 Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennet Scale)

14:37 Six intercultural sensitivity stages

20:09 What if the audience is at a different of intercultural sensitivity for a foreign stand up comedian?

22:50 A non comedy example of mutual cultural understandings when it comes to toasting

25:45 Accents v.s. speaking English “wrong”

30:40 Changing political climate/Impact of Tommy Robinson rally in the UK on comedy shows

37:49 Some final encouraging words

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/comedywithanaccent/ or email comedywithanaccent@gmail.com

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe