Laughter and applause: 'Ramina_rated' delights crowds at Sydney show

For the first time, Australian-Assyrian audiences experienced a comedy show by an Assyrian-American comedian who is currently touring Down Under.

The opening scene of the show. Credit: Manny Brikha

On Thursday, 16 March, 2023, history was made for the Assyrian community in Sydney as the female stand-up comedian known as "Ramina_rated" presented her first gig at the Bryan Brown Theatre in Bankstown.

Ramina Odicho appeared on stage for her comedy show entitled "Youm" which means "mum" in Assyrian.

Ms Odicho's first appearance at Sunday's show. Credit: Ramina-Rated

Ms Odicho gained fame among Assyrians worldwide through her short but satirical videos on Instagram and Facebook.

Ramina_rated is about an Assyrian migrant mother (Youm) who lives in Chicago, is very conservative and disagrees with almost everything her daughter, Ramina, does.

She constantly criticises her daughter for not helping with house-cleaning and for sleeping in.

Youm likes gossiping and is brilliant at matchmaking.

In some of her videos, Ms Odicho leaves the house and tries to imitate behaviours among Assyrian women in a very satirical way.

Ramina Odicho Credit: Ramina rated

These videos have gone viral and Ms Odicho has tens of thousands of followers, mainly Assyrian women, in Australia, the US, Europe and the Middle East.

Her popularity also stems from her short stories that challenge common Middle Eastern traditions and customs that favour sons more than daughters in many Assyrian families.

The Ramina_rated tour to Australia was much anticipated and tickets were almost sold out for her Sydney shows three months prior.

SBS Assyrian was at the last show on Sunday, 19 March, and noticed 150 people in a queue outside the hall, waiting for Ms Odicho to come out pose for photos with them.

More than 150 people waited to take their picture with Ms Odicho before the start of the show. Credit: SBS Assyrian

This long photo shoot delayed the show's start for about an hour. Fortunately, no one complained because the fans were excited to see the star in person.

It took more than an hour for people to have a photo shoot with Ms Odicho. Credit: Ramina rated

At the show's start, "Youm" appears in her usual house dress and starts walking among the audience, picking on people in the auditorium, asking them about their marital status, and making asides that brought much laughter from the audience.

In the second half, Ms Odicho changes her clothes into her self-character and talks about the events of her and her real mother's (Muna) lives. Muna accompanied her daughter on the trip to Australia and Ms Odicho relayed amusing stories about their experiences on a United Airlines flight.

Ms Odicho backstage. Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

Overall, the two-hour show never failed to deliver laughter and applause, and at the end, Ms Odicho received a standing ovation for her brilliant performance.

Ramina_rated will have one more show in Melbourne on Friday, 24 March, which again was almost sold-out.

Listen to the podcast interview and highlights from the top of the page.