While some may know the comedian Dina Hashem from her voiceover work on Central Park or writing on The Daily Show and The Sex Lives of College Girls, I was first introduced to her through the YouTube algorithm, specifically the 2017 video entitled “Shy deadpan girl viciously defeats a big loud guy in a NYC comedy roast battle” posted by The Stand NYC. While I’m not much of a roast fan myself—it tends to attract some of the worst elements of comedy in my experience—I was delightfully surprised by the set. Hashem did just what the video promised, taking down a much louder and “edgier” (read: misogynist) comic with her precise quips and flawless timing.
Needless to say, I was excited when her first hour-long special Dark Little Whispers was released on Amazon Prime earlier this month. If you haven’t made the time for it yet, Hashem’s new set is a laugh-out-loud winner.
Taped at the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago in late 2022, Dark Little Whispers opens to Hashem on stage as metal music blares (a song featuring Hashem on drums and vocals). The juxtaposition is clear: Hashem may possess an understated presence on stage, but that just accentuates her electric sense of humor, which will drive you to whatever the comedy form of a mosh pit is. In fact, some of her funniest jokes are about the unnecessary vitriol directed towards soft-spoken people, including her impression of an ardent extrovert.
Hashem’s special explores both her history—growing up with very little privacy, balancing being a stoner and a good Muslim—and the larger questions plaguing our society, like whether God exists, or the differences between conservatives and liberals. These latter ones are daunting, and subjects that are far from new, but Hashem’s exceptional wit and droll delivery make them feel fresh. And as for the more personal part of the show, Hashem wrings big laughs out of having an abortion (or as she so pithily calls it, an “aborsh”), navigating awkward sexual experiences, and being asked to carry her brother’s baby. Her self-deprecation and expert analysis of life’s ironies are especially key in these moments.
Dark Little Whispers also showcases Hashem’s inherent goofiness. In the special itself, this quality comes across in bits about workshopping 9/11 slogans and taking shrooms over lockdown, as well as her generally game attitude. We get to really see Hashem’s silliness after she leaves the stage, when she’s screaming unintelligibly (at least to this reviewer) in a studio for the aforementioned metal song.
Life is full of darkness, especially right now, but at least we have comedians like Hashem to help us find the humor in desperate moments. Whether you’re opposite her in a roast battle or flipping through streaming comedy options, you’d be dead wrong to underestimate Hashem.
Dark Little Whispers is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Clare Martin is a cemetery enthusiast and Paste’s assistant comedy editor. Go harass her on Twitter @theclaremartin.