AARIAN MEHRABANI: HOW’S YOUR HEAD?
Aarian Mehrabani, the multi-award-winning co-writer and performer of the smash-hit play IT’S A MOTHERF**KING PLEASURE, premieres his highly anticipated debut stand-up show, How’s Your Head? at Lowry from Friday 31 July to Saturday 01 August 2026 ahead of taking the show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.
Aarian has always considered himself a triple threat: Brown, Blind, and Bi. Arguably, that was already plenty of material for a single hour of comedy, even before his 2024 diagnosis of aggressive brain cancer. Drawing on these profound, life-altering experiences, Aarian expertly weaves together his distinctive wit, biting irreverence, and a powerful personal narrative that spans the secret joys of STI tests, his complex relationship with his Persian identity and his gruelling hospital battle with a brain tumour. Bold, deeply personal, and relentlessly funny, How’s Your Head? introduces a fresh, vital voice to the stand-up circuit.
How’s Your Head? is written and performed by Aarian Mehrabani, directed by Dec Munro and commissioned and supported by Lowry through its 'Developed With' Artist Development Programme with additional support from Arts Council England. Marking an exciting milestone, this is the first time a member of the acclaimed theatre company Flawbored has presented their own solo work outside of the collective.
Antonia Beck, Senior Producer: Artist Development at Lowry said: "We're very proud to have supported Aarian through our Developed With programme to create How's Your Head?, and we're delighted to be premiering the show at Lowry before it heads to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Aarian has a distinctive comedic and creative voice, with a remarkable ability to transform deeply personal experiences into work that is both disarmingly funny and thought-provoking.
“ At Lowry, artist development is about giving artists the time, space and support to take creative risks, build sustainable careers and realise ambitious new work, and Aarian's debut stand-up show is a brilliant example of what can happen when artists are given the opportunity to explore, experiment and develop their ideas. We can't wait for audiences to experience it."
Aarian Mehrabani is a multi-award winning writer, comedian and actor from the North West. In 2020 he graduated from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and in 2021 he co-founded the multi award winning theatre company FlawBored. Their debut show, IT’S A MOTHERF**KING PLEASURE, premiered at Vault, won the Untapped Award and completed a sold out Edinburgh Fringe run to huge critical acclaim, before enjoying a three-week run off-Broadway. Aarian is currently working on their second show with the Royal Court, in addition to several TV projects. As an actor, Aarian starred in The Sleeping Sword at The Watermill, appeared in BRINK and Nothing at the Royal Exchange Theatre and will appear in David Baddiel’s Channel 4 thriller Hunting Alice Bell set to air later this year.