You can run from resistance but it will always catch up with you – as Sami finds out in his latest show. Join his open call for mass civil disobedience, equitable distribution of hand puppets and more! Find out once and for all: can resistance be funny? Sami returns to Fringe and this time, it’s personal. As a Palestinian born in exile, only to be displaced from his country of birth by yet another war, he digs deep into his own ties to resistance, Palestinian identity, and shows you some very silly faces along the way.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
My show is an hour of jokes, storytelling and clowning based on the history of anticolonial resistance… but the most important part is the hand puppets.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
My director is the unrivalled Sam Beale of Palestine Comedy Club and my producer is Qasim Salam, without whom I’d be totally lost!
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
Terrible.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
As far as I’m aware I’m the only comic doing a show about the very unfunny topic of colonial violence, and the only Palestinian doing a comedy show in the fringe to boo
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
A refreshed desire to create a better future for all…
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
I’d like David Lammy to come and completely misunderstand every aspect of my show to the point of realising he’s really not cut out for politics, leaving and retiring somewhere remote like Watford. And then one of the three Kneecap guys to take his place and do British foreign policy for a few weeks.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
I do not rest. Occasionally I burn out. But after a few hours in a dark room I emerge renewed like some kind of bird that dies and rises in flames – I think they call it the ‘Jesus bird’. I recommend seeing The Horse of Jenin by Alaa Shehada.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
The problems of the fringe are a direct result of decades of a relentless war against the poor and working class waged by the neoliberal crap-children of Thatcher and Regan. The Fringe will not improve through well-meaning gestures of inclusivity. It will only be solved with societal change at the root level. That and getting rid of the Fringe Society once and for all.
PALESTINE: Peace de Resistance runs at Venue 23:Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome
Photo credit: Vahid Hakimzadeh
Interested in being featured on our Have a Gander page? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’