Dubai Comedy Festival Unveils Its First Headliners & The Line Up Is Just A.W.E.S.O.M.E

by Vaishnavi Venkataraman
Dubai Comedy Festival Unveils Its First Headliners & The Line Up Is Just A.W.E.S.O.M.E

Comedy Festival has unveiled the first headliners of its city-wide comedy takeover. The fest, set to take place from 13- 22 May will also transform Madinat Jumeirah into a Comedy Bizarre for 10 nights of laughter, live entertainment, music, food, and more.

This year’s line-up features the planet’s funniest people, including Gad Elmaleh, Eddie Griffin, Maz Jobrani and Nemr, as well as popular Russian comedians Alexander Revva, Mikhail Galustyanand Yevgeniy Chebatkov. The Dubai Comedy Festival will take place over 10 days and nights in multiple hotspots across Dubai, providing the city with a world of laughs and tonnes of laugh-out-loud moments to be shared with family, friends, and loved ones in safe and enjoyable environments.Bigger, better, and funnier, the festival will have lots of new elements to look forward to and plenty of surprises along the way.

Here’s a lo-down on the line up!

Gad Elmaleh

Gad Elmaleh is a French-Moroccan stand-up comedian and actor who has achieved widespread notoriety in France, Morocco and the United States. He is a star in the French-speaking world and more recently in the United States. He has starred in several feature films, including Coco, Priceless, La Doublure, and Midnight in Paris. Voted the funniest person in France, he was named ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’ by the Minister of Culture. He was also named ‘Knight of the National Order of Quebec’. Elmaleh is often referred to as the ‘Seinfeld of France’ and has performed numerous sold-out world tours, in arenas across the globe. In 2015 and 2018, Elmaleh did national comedy tours across the United States. In 2019, he released the Netflix series ‘Huge in France’.

Eddie Griffin 

A popular comedian turned actor who started his career on-stage as a dare, funnyman Eddie Griffin has built an ever-growing fan-base since jumping onto the comedy scene in 1990.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Eddie was once dared to go on stage at the local comedy club Sanford and Sons where he was told to do threeminutes. He performed off-the-cuff for 45 minutes successfully.It was then that Griffin purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a stand-up.He has gone on to play The Pastor opposite Dave Chappelle, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in 2018’s Academy Award Winning feature film ‘A Star is Born’.His Showtime Comedy Special Eddie Griffin: Undeniable debuted on Showtime in February 2018 to rave reviews.

May Jobrani

Maz Jobrani is a comedian, actor and host of his own podcast. Gaining recognition as the Iranian-American founding member of THE AXIS OF EVIL comedy tour, he has made many appearances on television’s most popular shows, starred in award-winning films, and has also been a regular guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Nemr 

Nemr is a Lebanese-American stand-up comic who is credited with pioneering the stand-up comedy scene throughout the Middle East. In 2017, Nemr premiered his hugely successful comedy special, ‘No Bombing in Beirut’, across the United States on Showtime, and across Canada. He has written and performed seven full feature shows, the latest of which was a world tour that took him to many major US cities, Europe, and across the Middle East. He has also released two feature specials as cinematic experiences, ‘EPIC’ (2014) and ‘Victorious Secret’ (2016), and has numerous television credits from major networks, along with appearances on CNN, BBC HARDTalk, and ‘The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore’.

The Laughter Factory’s Downright Nasty Tour

The Laughter Factory has searched the globe to bring three of the world’s most outrageous stand-ups, to shake the cobwebs off your tonsils.Playing a part in the Dubai Comedy Festival meant that the Laughter Factory had to use its 25 years in the business to source some of the best international comedy talent that the region has ever hosted, including Agnostino Zoida, George Zach and Ari Matti Mustonen. Forget about your problems. Come and witness the mayhem. The time has come to be happy!

Alexander Revva & Mikhail Galustyan

Legendary and beloved Russian comedians Alexander Revva and Mikhail Galustyan will perform their show, ‘Funny and Even Funnier’, as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Debuting their show on 18 May at Dubai Opera, it’s definitely a performance not to be missed. On top of side-splittingly funny jokes, the hilarious duo will be improvising – creating an organic element of surprise that only comedians of their calibre can deliver.

The Comedy Bizarre, Madinat Jumeriah

The Fort Island at Madinat Jumeirah, along with its surrounding bars and restaurants, will host Dubai Comedy Festival’s Comedy Bizarre for the first time ever, bringing 10 nights of laughter, live entertainment, music, food, and much more to one of the city’s most iconic destinations. Taking inspiration from everyone’s favourite TV game shows of the 80s and 90s, The Comedy Bizarre will immerse families and friends alike in a world of fun, games, prizes, and surprises.

The Comedy Bizarre’s amazing 10-night line-up will be announced shortly, so keep an eye on www.dubaicomedyfest.ae and check out Dubai Comedy Festival’s social media channels, as all will be revealed soon!