Hajar J. Woodland

Hajar's a British writer, standup and singer who debuted her solo hour, First Love, at Soho Theatre for Soho Rising Festival 2025.

Hajar's been gigging for more than 15 years in the UK and Europe, performing as a singer and compere at top-tier corporate events and at luxury venues for stars such as Steve Vai, Ron White, TV chef Monica Galetti, and the family of the late Sean Connery.

Her blend of confessional and observational comedy's warm and self-deprecating with bitter notes, and explores her Muslim background, daddy issues, non-motherhood, and the limits of her own labels in a label-obsessed society. She likes to combine standup and singing on musical comedy sets, and took First Love as a live music WIP to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe.

Hajar has a history degree from King's College London and a master's in creative writing from the University of Kent in Paris. A copywriter, presenter and content producer, she's been a judge at the British Podcast Awards, was published by Virago, and also wrote McLaren Racing's first-ever sustainability report. She's made programmes for BBC Radio and written for national publications including The Spectator, Stylist, The Independent, and The Times.

She's appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on several occasions, most recently to talk about First Love, and as a guest on Mathew Syed's BBC podcast Sideways. Hajar's spoken at literary events including Bath Literature Festival and the Women's Prize for Fiction with Kate Mosse and Kathy Lette, and interviewed Booker-winning novelist Douglas Stuart.

She loves Formula 1, examining social and cultural phenomena, and knows far too much about Friends.

Hajar's available for gigs and presenting work, and would love to be a guest on your podcast.

She started standup in 2021 and has since completed Soho Theatre's sought-after Comedy Plus Lab, beaten the Comedy Store gong, reached the Funny Women semi-finals, and since 2022 has run her own monthly sell-out comedy night at Cellar Magnifique in Surrey.

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