Comedy in Dubai: How We Started ComedyDubai

If you want to try something new for the first time, the UAE is certainly the place to do it.  Because it’s such a new country, it is open to everyone and anyone trying their hand at art, music or culture. My fiancée jokes that anyone in Dubai who can take a picture that isn’t blurry could open up an exhibition in Al Quoz or compile a photography book, and people would support it because there is so little of ‘that kind of thing’ in the Emirates.

Thinking of my next joke while the audience laughs :-)

I’ve found this with comedy. Last year, if you asked me if I thought I was funny, I would have probably said ‘no’. If you asked me today, I would probably still say ‘no, but people do laugh at my jokes’.

In February, I signed up to a comedy course with my fiancée because I thought he needed an outlet for his jokes, which I find hilarious- and unsurprisingly so does the rest of Dubai.

We didn't know what to expect and were hoping to get an idea of how to write stand up material and tips on how to be amazing and engaging performers.

Audience reaction to @ComedyDubai

The course was 10 weeks long and mainly based around improvisation. This became rather tedious after six weeks, but thankfully in the last two weeks, the exercises were based around writing, honing and performing material.

This was all with the aim of a student show, including other performers from the school like tap-dancers and improvised sketch artists, all of which would be performed to friends and family.

@HillierRobert 

With our busy work schedules, learning the material and how to perform it all in two weeks was quite a challenge, especially since this was something we had to do for ourselves without the help of the tutors. But we managed it, and because of what was clearly a ridiculously supportive audience, most of us got a great reaction to our sets.

The adrenaline was immense, but as far as I remember, every normal person that I spoke to that night, including me said: ‘No way in hell am I performing again’

What a joke.

One week later I was sweating over another set with new jokes getting ready to perform at my favourite shawarma joint WildPeeta.

We headed to the venue on the metro and on our way there, my fiancée, myself and two other people on the course, Sheida and Ray came to the realization that this was it. After this weekend, we would have nothing to do on Saturdays- the last 12 Saturdays had been occupied by comedy and now the rest of them loomed ahead of us.

There were 2 shows on offer over the next two months, but that wasn’t enough for us. We wanted to make comedy and performance part of our life, we wanted more!

We decided then and there that we needed to start up a group so that we could offer people a place to perform and where we could perform ourselves. 

Within a few days of Wildpeeta, the four of us had started up a group, worked on getting venues together, starting up a facebook page, twitter account and we’ve even got an incredibly talented graphic designer to create a logo for us (@nora_adib on twitter)

@LaSheidakeh

It’s been two months and our group Comedy Dubai (Get Up, Stand Up) has already produced 6 events. Two of which are at an amazing venue, the Pavilion Downtown. We have had the best reaction to our sets here, the venue is cosy, the audience is supportive and comes in droves. It is a joy to perform here.

What we also do at the Pavilion venue, which is unique for the UAE, is an open mic. We give anyone who wants a chance at standup a platform to perform 2-3 minutes of prepared standup. We do vet the material first, and so far have had a really good response to the first timers, who want to keep performing.

Ray has since decided to leave ComedyDubai and start up his own group, which is a great move for Dubai and the UAE as a whole. We’re always asked to take events to other Emirates and the fact that there will soon be at least 3 or 4 comedy groups here, and hopefully many more means not only will the venues we perform at increase, but the type of comedy that we do will mature. In three or four years I envisage a scene similar to London in the 80s, with hopefully a better audience, since people in Dubai are too cool to heckle and I like it that way.

For more information on Comedy Dubai follow us on twitter @ComedyDubai or like us on facebook.com/comedydubai or just email comedydubai@gmail.com

Comedy Dubai’s next event is at Pavilion on July 4^th

We’ll break for Summer and Ramadan and then we should be back on September 12^th at Pavilion.

And then September 18^th at Harvesters in the Crowne Plaza on Sheikh Zayed Road

Look forward to seeing you there.