Zainab Johnson Makes Edinburgh Festival Fringe Debut With TOXICALLY OPTIMISTIC
Performances run 30th July - 24th August at 6.40pm.
By: Stephi Wild May. 22, 2025
Following her hit stand-up special Hijabs Off (Prime Video), and her first UK run with her sell-out and critically-acclaimed show at London's Soho Theatre last year, comedian, actor and writer Zainab Johnson makes her at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. One of Variety's 'Top 10 Comics to Watch', Zainab will be performing her new show, Toxically Optimistic, at the Fringe at Pleasance Courtyard, Above from 30th July - 24th August at 6.40pm.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe tickets are on sale now.
Quickly propelled as one of the most unique and engaging performers on stage and screen, Zainab has become known for telling stories about dating, alongside her identity as a Black female Muslim and being one of 13 siblings. In her new show, Zainab explores being charitable on dates, owning a gun but refusing to kill, a surprising friendship with a wild animal and revealing her toxic trait: Optimism.
Zainab's debut special, Hijabs Off, was named as one of the 'Best Comedy Specials of 2023' (Vulture), and saw her profiled in Rolling Stone and the LA Times. Elsewhere on television and radio, she stars as a series regular in the hit original comedy sci-fi series Upload (Prime Video), was one of the hosts on documentary series 100 Humans (Netflix) and starred as Dr. Hanniel in the brilliantly written web series Avant-Guardians. Zainab has also appeared on Ramy (Hulu), A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), American Koko (ABC), Private Practice (ABC) and was a stand-out panellist on comedy quiz show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! (NPR). As a stand-up, Zainab made her first late night stand-up appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC), had a breakout appearance on stand-up series All Def Comedy (HBO) and was a finalist in the Emmy-Award nominated series Last Comic Standing (NBC), the American reality television comedy competition. Zainab also hosts the I'm Reasonable with Zainab Johnson YouTube podcast, examining her own life as well as everything happing in the world through the lens of trying to be reasonable all the time, which alongside her stand-up videos, has gained millions of views on social media.
As a live performer, Zainab has performed at the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival, at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, first in the festival's annual showcase of emerging stand-up talent, New Face of Comedy, and most recently on the longest running JFL show Just For The Culture. Zainab is a regular at The Comedy Store, The Improv, and Laugh Factory in Los Angeles as well as the Comedy Cellar in New York City.
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