Fatiha El-Ghorri: Formidably hilarious showing at Hackney Empire

Fatiha El-Ghorri is having an exceedingly good year. Last month the hajib-wearing Londoner picked up a Best Newcomer nomination at the Edinburgh Fringe despite hardly being new, having been a stand-up for a decade and appearing on TV shows including Live at the Apollo and Taskmaster. Her Hackney show had the feel of a celebratory homecoming. The 45-year-old was born and raised a mile from the venue and peppered her set with fan-pleasing local references.El-Ghorri is not short on attitude, whether dissing gentrification ("when I'm rich I'm gonna buy a house here just to bring the prices down") or discussing her penchant for having a potty mouth ("I can be clean for the right fee"). You definitely wouldn't want to mess with her. She talks about being banned from the mosque for fighting and it's not hard to believe.Cockney Stacking Doll – the title comes from someone comparing her to Russian dolls that slot into each other – is strongest when she gets personal. She has 12 siblings and could probably write a show about each of them. Her niece thinks fame means queue-jumping in fast food shops. She is divorced and is working her way through dating Apps. Her life has certainly had ups and downs. She lived in a hostel for four years and in May met King Charles at a charity event.2026 is clearly going better than 2025, when she was diagnosed with womb cancer. Her set has its greatest impact when she discusses having a hysterectomy. The operation was successful but she speaks powerfully about the failings of aftercare. She can even find the funny side of this difficult time, being put on testosterone which played havoc with her anger management and made her turn into the Hulk.But mostly the mood is kept light. There is not much chat about her religious beliefs, though she does say that having a tight hijab is akin to a natural facelift. There is a namedroppy routine about getting praise from George Clooney, but she is determined not to forget her Eastender roots. "I'm from the hood," she says with a hint of menace. But there is heart, vulnerability and lashings of likability under that tough carapace.Sometimes El-Ghorri gets by on strength of personality rather than nuance, but there is no denying that she is a formidable force onstage. And judging by her mindset pretty formidable offstage too.