Acclaimed comedian, actor and author ALOK has announced the release of their newest comedy special BIOLOGY! for December 18. The hour-long special was taped in New York City at SONY Hall in February of this year after ALOK toured the special all over the world with over 150 shows in 36 countries.
Executive produced by Christopher Guest, “BIOLOGY!” will be free to stream exclusively on alokvmenon.com.
The special is a hybrid blend of standup comedy and poetry as ALOK challenges binaries that hold us back from true meaning: sorrow and joy, grief and gratitude. They believe part of BEING HUMAN is learning how to hold both.
“Biology” is often used to justify discrimination against trans and gender non-conforming people. The accusation is that they are “ignoring biology.” In this show, ALOK argues that the true biology that’s being sidelined isn’t gender, it’s our mortality. When we remember the fact that we die, all of the silly antics that we waste our time with – like hating one another -become recognized as the distractions that they are. At the end of the day we are all beautiful and biologically mortal. Biology is fluid, constantly changing. And if you miss this comedy special, you’re officially erasing it!
Of the new special, ALOK says, “At its core this show is about healing. I wrote it after my grandfather passed away and I was trying to make sense of the grief. Because the world is so dark, comedy can be not just a coping mechanism, but a practice of survival. The jokes in the show are about the constant aggression I experience as a trans person, and trying my best to heal in a world that can often feel impossible.”
“This show encapsulates who I am as an artist: an unabashed commitment to comedy in the face of chaos. In a world in which so many of our rights are being threatened, we can’t lose our ability to laugh. My hope is that it’ll resonate with anyone going through difficult times — by which I mean, the whole entire world.”
ALOK (full name Alok Vaid-Menon) is an internationally acclaimed comedian and actor, as well as lauded poet and author. BIOLOGY! has captivated audiences with sold-out shows at venues including Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as headlining spots on Netflix is a Joke, Just For Laughs and the New York Comedy festivals. ALOK can currently be seen in Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda comedy special on Netflix and in an upcoming role on season 3 of Max’s popular original series The Sex Lives Of College Girls opposite Pauline Chalamet. Their comedy has been described as “provocative and powerful” (Chortle) and a “jaw-dropping celestial event” (To Do London).
They are the subject of a new docu-short “ALOK,” executive produced by Jodie Foster and directed by Alex Hedison, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. A song from the documentary, written and performed by Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and composter Craig Wedren and using ALOK’s poetry as lyrics, was released last week to critical acclaim.
On screen, they can also be seen in Complicated Order opposite Midori Francis, The Trans List, and Absolute Dominion (forthcoming) opposite Patton Oswalt. On television, they can be seen on season 3 of the critically acclaimed HBO Max series SORT OF opposite Bilal Baig, Hulu’s Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne, ABC’s PRIDE: To Be Seen – A Soul of A Nation, Netflix’s Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness.
ALOK’s literary works “Beyond the Gender Binary,” “Femme in Public,” and “Your Wound, My Garden,” have garnered global recognition. For their contributions to culture and entertainment, they have been honored with the ACLU of Southern California Bill of Rights Award, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment Trailblazer Award, and were selected as the inaugural LGBTQ Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania.
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