Comedy show providing a platform for Arab stand-up comedians comes to Montreal

Laughter builds bridges between cultures. That’s what producer and creator Rola Zaarour believed when she launched the ‘Funny Arabs’ comedy show in Washington, D.C. Now that show is in Montreal.

“I wanted to create a space where I can watch that show, so I was like why not make it happen for everybody else,” Zaarour explained.

“There is just so many amazing comedians of Arab origin and I just thought I wanna create something in D.C. where we can have a range of Arab American comedians just telling their story and making us laugh.”

Photo from Funny Arabs show in Washington. (Photo Courtesy: Rola Zaarour, Creator of Funny Arabs)

Montreal is the Funny Arabs’ first stop outside the United States. During its first show on December 27, Montreal’s Kawalees was sold out.

“Kawalees is a beautiful creative space in Montreal; it’s the brainchild of Johnny Hajj. It’s a wonderful space for mainly Arab talent but non-Arab talent is also very welcome and very much elevated.”

The show was in English to attract a wider audience and to use comedy as a communication tool with non-Arab audiences.

“Most of the Arab comedians in D.C., probably 90 per cent of them, only perform in English; so it’s not like somebody was translating,” explained Zaarour.

“These are 20-year veteran comedians who have had showtime specials who have been on HBO, who’ve had tv interviews, they’re artists, they’re actors and so on. So they are already top global performers. So they would perform their regular sets obviously they cater to an Arab audience so it’s a little less about mainstream dating and more about Arab dating, for example.”

Photo from Funny Arabs show in Washington. (Photo Courtesy: Rola Zaarour, Creator of Funny Arabs)

Zaarour adds she does trauma comedy. “When we talk about important things like financial crisis, war, displacement, all of these issues, but make it funny, and we all heal together. So it’s a kind of comedy that’s ‘traumedy’.”

The show has been providing a platform for Arab stand-up comedians to perform constructive material that sheds light on the Arab experience in a way that breaks stereotypes about the Arab identity.

“Obviously, we are not all terrorists, but also the stereotype that was broken is that Arab women, we are not oppressed. We have some challenges that might be the same as everybody else. We are also often misunderstood. The stereotype is that all Arabs are the same. The stereotype is that all Arabs are Muslims,” said Zaarour.

“Do Arabs celebrate Christmas? Yes, Christian Arabs do, that’s actually the birthplace of Jesus. So all these sorts of things were a wonderful way for us to just deliver that message and have some fun with it. And I love it when I have non-Arabs there, and they laugh aloud.”