I didn’t get into comedy because I had something urgent to say. I got into it because I liked copying people, and instead of finding me obnoxious, people kept laughing instead of asking me to stop.
As a child, I entertained myself by doing impressions of teachers, pop stars and occasionally inanimate objects. I was 18 and left stage school with an unconditional offer to do a music degree at Bristol University, but a dream to play the lead roles in Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.
By the time I realised I was just another 5'3" dark haired actress in a sea of talented people going up for the same roles, my twice deferred place at Bristol disappeared. I was working in the stock room of an Oxford Street shop when I told a HUGE LIE in order to get an audition for a show called Little Voice, which had been a film with Jane Horrocks, in which a painfully shy girl listens to her fathers old records so much she realises she can imitate the divas (Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland, Lulu etc), with amazing accuracy.
The lie was "I'm amazing at impressions – can I audition, please?" The director told me I had five days til the audition, I got to work, got the part and never looked back.
Here are the five moments that shaped my career.
Chloe Hashemi
1. Realising impressions weren’t a party trick, they were the job
Playing Little Voice and imitating those bold, unapologetic, fierce singers every night gave me such joy and confidence. The actress who was playing my mother in the show knew Bill Dare from Dead Ringers and encouraged me to send him my tape – (cassette tape – that's how long ago it was – though I still maintain I can play 18 and I MUST play 18).
Bill wrote a lovely email to me saying although he thought I was very talented, he didn't have much call for Judy Garland on Dead Ringers and asked whether I did anyone speaking rather than singing, and more importantly if they were ALIVE. So I told a HUGE LIE again, and said YES. I was called in for an audition two weeks later.
2. Getting paid to be funny on the telly
My first proper TV job felt surreal. I landed the role of 'various parts' in the last two series of Dead Ringers back when it was televised. I was about 23.
My first day at Pinewood was to film a Desperate Housewives sketch with the Dead Ringers QUEEN – Jan Ravens – I was playing Teri Hatcher, (though I accidentally told all my friends I'd been booked to play Terry Pratchett – bit different).
Luckily I'd learned to mimic the correct person and hadn't turned up on set in a black hat, glasses and beard.
Chloe Hashemi
3. Edinburgh: equal parts validation and emotional breakdown
Taking a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a rite of passage and a mild psychological experiment. I learned how to hold a room, how to cope with bad reviews, and how to eat an entire meal standing up while flyering. Some shows were electric. Some were… character-building. Edinburgh taught me resilience, humility and the value of a strong opening number when half the audience didn’t mean to come in.
4. Finding my voice by borrowing everyone else’s
It sounds counterintuitive, but doing impressions helped me find my own voice. By stepping into other people’s rhythms, confidence and authority, I realised those qualities weren’t borrowed – they were already there inside me – just dormant.
Comedy stopped being about showing off impressions and became about storytelling, musicality and spreading joy. Once that clicked, I stopped panicking quite so much before going onstage. It's a privilege to do what I do and now before I step out I remind myself 'I came to PLAY'.
Before I step out I remind myself 'I came to PLAY'.
5. Creating Your Song – Elton Reimagined
Reimagining Elton John’s music through the voices of iconic women felt both joyful and slightly mad, which is usually a good sign. The show blends comedy, impressions and music in a way that finally feels like me. It’s camp, celebratory and occasionally poignant – hearing Amy Winehouse sing an Elton song does something unexpected to a room.
This show represents everything I’ve learned so far, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had onstage. Which is saying something, because I once made two audience members have an angel delight eating competition on stage while I sang Halo as Beyonce.
Jess Robinson: Elton Reimagined is touring now – iconic songs, iconic females, and one icon being all of them. (Yes I did just refer to myself and an icon. But I'm forty now – so I'm not messing around). See more at jessrobinson.co.uk
