Gaza's stand-up show brings laughter to adversity

[Jefferson23]

Five young guys from Gaza who started by making a YouTube show have built a huge audience, and now have a sketch show on Al-Araby TV

Jehan Alfarra

Last update:
Friday 5 June 2015


Comelogia includes Thaer Moner, the director and producer, and Mahmoud Zuaiter, the main actor, who first met Moner at al-Azhar University (Tashwesh Productions)

Bombs, blood, rubble and grief: that is how the world identifies Gaza today. Since the imposition of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip in 2007, the devastation in Gaza has indeed been immense. Not only have Gaza’s residents been subjected to frequent power cuts, fuel shortages, border closures, trade restrictions, and rising unemployment levels, but they have also endured three Israeli military campaigns that have left thousands of people dead, injured, distressed and homeless.

Some might find it difficult to believe that Comelogia, a weekly comic sketch that is part of a new programme aired on the London-based Al-Araby TV, is produced and filmed in Gaza. Satirical art, however, has long been a way for people to express their feelings in the face of adversities.

And so it is with Comelogia, created by five young men in Gaza who wanted to use stand-up comedy and satire to help their people laugh at Gaza’s challenging conditions, as well as to portray Palestinian reality and culture - and through this bring the stand-up art form into the Palestinian mainstream.

Before their recent appearance on Al-Araby TV, the group was best known for its stand-up comedy show Bas Ya Zalameh (Stop It, Man), which they launched in 2012 on YouTube. Social media has since been the group’s window to a world free of borders and restrictions, attracting over eight million views worldwide on their YouTube channels and over 100,000 fans on Facebook.

An idea is born:

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/gazas-stand-show-brings-laughter-adversity-357489642#sthash.8st9hTat.dpuf

[oberliner]

1. This was a really interesting piece

Thanks for posting.