As part of our autumn run at Soho Theatre in partnership with Show And Tell, we are collaborating with the Palestine Comedy Club (PalCom) to present guest performers Alaa Shehada, Diana Sweity and Hanna Shammas on their first UK tour – performing in English.
The gig will be hosted by Thanyia Moore, with guest headliner Catherine Bohart.
Palestine Comedy Club (PalCom) is a comedy production company established in the UK and Palestine by Palestinian stand-up comedian, Alaa Shehada, with assistance from senior lecturer in comedy and solo performance at Middlesex University, Dr. Sam Beale, and film producer, Charlotte Knowles.
Under the leadership of Alaa Shehada, Palestine Comedy Club is working to establish a stand-up comedy circuit across the West Bank providing space and funds for emerging stand-up comedy talent in the region to hone their craft and develop a culture of live comedy performance that is unique to the Palestinian experience.
There is also a panel event with PalCom from 4.30pm at 21 Soho
More about PalCom
Palestine Comedy Club’s first show, ‘Balad’ (بلد ) toured to venues in Ramallah, Nablus, Haifa, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Jenin in 2022. Performed by Alaa Shehada, Hanna Shammas, Raed Sheukhi, Diana Sweity, Ebaa Monther and Khalil Al-Batran, ‘Balad’ explores the complexity of Palestinian identity as it is experienced across the entire region, from Hebron to the Golan Heights.
The show received excellent reviews and was described as “ laughter in extreme pain, and a turning point towards a different comedy in Palestine.”
PalCom delivers workshops to non-performers including in women’s centres and refugee camps. They have taught in Ramallah, in the Korean Centre, Hebron, at the Ibaa Cultural Centre in Dheishah Camp, Bethlehem, and at the women’s centre in Jenin. We have also held workshops at Nablus Performing Arts and Circus School. These workshops gave local people an opportunity to share personal stories and explore stand-up skills as a form of personal and cultural expression.
Upcoming No Direction Home dates at Soho Theatre:
Nov 13: Hosted by Michael Akadiri
Dec 11: Headlined by Shaparak Khorsandi
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean St London W1D 3NE
Tickets from £15
www.sohotheatre.com
020 7478 0100
Presented by Show And Tell with Counterpoints Arts, the gigs feature line-ups of new voices from refugee and migrant backgrounds alongside some of the biggest names in British comedy.
No Direction Home was established by Counterpoints Arts with Camden People’s Theatre and top stand-up Tom Parry, who has mentored the group.
They have already won over audiences in a variety of venues in London and around the country, and have now secured their second West End run.
TV comic and stand-up Nish Kumar, says: “The No Direction Home comedians are a very exciting, interesting and creative bunch of people to be around. And they are very funny. The material is really good.”
No Direction Home performers are new talents with backgrounds in countries including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia and Mali.
Yasmeen Ghrawi says: “No Direction Home is a space to show up/stand up, a space to be seen and heard, a space of celebration. We come from places of varying remoteness to the UK, some of us fresh off the back of a truck, others migrated here years ago. We hope to keep sharing the love – and our jokes.”
Show And Tell is an award-winning production company of live comedy, with a national and international programme of events. With teams in London and New York, we seek to play an integral role in the live performance careers of many world-class and emerging talents in both the UK and US.
