British Palestinian comedian Sami Abu Wardeh has described comedy as his "seed of hope" as he brings his new Edinburgh fringe show to the stage, part of a growing wave of Palestinian performers using humour to tell their stories of occupation, exile and war.
Comedy as a tool for hope
Abu Wardeh, whose show Sami Abu Wardeh Hates You opened this week, believes comedy should leave audiences with a feeling of togetherness and hope, rather than just grief. "We should feel sad. We should grieve. But we're the lucky ones. We're the ones who need to stay mentally up and crack on," he said. "Comedy is my seed of hope."
He contrasted this with many Palestinian solidarity events, which he said are "rightfully, about grieving... They'll read out the names of children and all these atrocities, and then you leave depressed. We have to avoid that at all costs."
From doctor to comedian
Abu Wardeh, who trained as a doctor and worked in the NHS for 15 years, left medicine last year to pursue comedy full time. His comedy shifted dramatically after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, following an independent UN inquiry that concluded Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Reflecting on a difficult gig early in the conflict, he said: "I committed the cardinal sin of comedy: I turned on my audience... I literally said: 'What's wrong? There's a genocide happening.' I left that gig very upset. It was very isolating."
Finding a way to channel anger
Over time, he learned to channel that anger. "My late director, Adam Brace, consistently described my comedy as dangerous," he said. "I think there's been a burning anger inside me for most of my life that I've not been able to express. It's only in the last year or so that I've found a way to bottle that fire."
For Abu Wardeh, comedy serves two purposes: "I want them to go away thinking: 'That was a comedy show.' Ideally: 'That was a brilliant comedy show.' But the second thing, which is becoming just as important, is that I was truthful." He added that if he went on stage and didn't talk about Palestine, "I will be dying. I will be a husk of a human being."
Palestine Comedy Club at the Fringe
Abu Wardeh is part of the Palestine Comedy Club, which is presenting several productions at this year's Edinburgh fringe, including founder Alaa Shehada's show The Bridge and Hanna Shammas Takes it to Heart. Founded in 2022, the collective has helped develop a standup scene in the occupied West Bank while bringing Palestinian voices to UK audiences.
Shared laughter, international language
Diana Sweity, a Palestinian actor, puppeteer and comedian from the south of Hebron, is also a member of the collective. She said that when performing for other Palestinians, there is a shared recognition: "When you see a comedy show, you feel a little bit calm. You change your mood. But it doesn't cancel the pain or the suffering. It makes life a mix between love and sadness."
She acknowledged the struggle of joking about such serious subjects: "We laugh about our suffering, but it's suffering. We laugh about the war, but it's war. We laugh about what happened in Palestine and Gaza, but it's the life of the Palestinian people."
Sweity, who performed in Scotland last year and is due to return next year, said international audiences are often stunned. "They don't know whether to laugh or cry," she said. "They saw the war many times on television. But this time I bring, in front of them, another perspective." She believes laughter is an international language, and comedy gives people "spirit" and helps them "keep the hope."
Most importantly, she said, comedy allows Palestinians to speak for themselves: "We can speak about suffering. We can spread our voice to the world. We can tell our stories... You tell your story to the world and you survive."
