Dubai International Comedy Carnival Saves The Funniest For The Last

After three days of building up to a summit of hilarity, the Dubai International Comedy Carnival reached its crescendo of laughter on Saturday (January 26) evening with some of the top names of international comedy spreading the laughing gas from 7pm onwards at Dubai Festival City. And with globally sought after comedians, such as Michael Winslow and Dean Obeidallah, delivering their stand up acts, it was no wonder that broad grins seemed fixed on the faces of the audience when the night ended and they reluctantly made their ways out of the venue with the after effects of the laughter attack still lingering.

The evening started on a refreshingly different note. The audience members were ferried from the parking lot to the open-air stage at the Dubai Festival City in three-wheeled “tuk-tuks” – those cute yet ungainly, ubiquitous city runabouts favoured in the subcontinent and the Far East – with the attempt to no doubt to set the stage with their exhaust notes that mimic the rhythms of cackling laughter.

Once the audience had assembled, the evening opened with the declaration of the winners and the distribution of prizes for the various comedy contests that had been held during the Carnival from January 22 to 26 with a view to encouraging young talent. The School of Rock competition was won by a team that comprised Lara B, Vicky and Izzy, while Omar Shams was declared the winner of the Amateur Comedy Competition. Aspiring filmmakers Zaid and Faris won the Comedy Movie Competition with their Indie production “Operation Tuxedo”. Meanwhile, the meanest leg-shakers at the GCC Breakdance Competition were the Over Boys team for the crew segment and B’Boy Pygmie for the solo category.

With the budding talents having collected their rewards it was then time for a double header of professionals in pure mirth to take over. First, Hollywood legend of Police Academy fame and the “Man of 10,000 Voices”, Michael Winslow, had the audience in splits with his inimitable style, delivery and content. Winslow’s trademark wit and mimicry was on full show and there was never a dull moment as one of the most acclaimed comedians in the world had the Dubai audience eating out of the palm of his hand while he ensured the audience left with aching jaws and heaving lungs because of the amount they laughed.

The next great act took over from where Winslow left off. Dean Obeidallah and Aron Kader of the world famous “Axis of Evil” fame gave the audience a hilariously scathing look at the global stereotype of the Middle East and Arabs. Picking up scenes from everyday life, the duo dissected prejudice against non-mainstream and the so-called “marginalized” peoples with a scalpel tipped with acerbic wit, as a guffawing audience also marveled at the way they exposed the global mentality of typecasting with humour.

The final performance was by Mohammed Amer, the American comedian born in Kuwait of Palestinian lineage. Amer, or Mo as he is popularly called, has been dubbed ‘the Arab-American Bill Cosby,’ and is an established standup comedian from Houston, Texas. He presented his solo show, “Legally Homeless-Trials of a Refugee” which is part of his work that promotes understanding between diverse cultures of the world. The Carnival came to a fitting close with his honest, endearing, personal stories about his family and himself, in whose ironic and sarcastic humour the audience members identified a bit of themselves.

Earlier, on Friday, the evening had started off with a breakdance competition on the event’s free stage, which had groups of dancers performing feats of rhythmic contortions some of which defied belief. The competition was open to all and the quality and number of entries definitely proved there was no dearth of talent in Dubai. As the audience marveled at the dexterity and moves of the dancers, the stage was set for the more serious business of the evening’s comedy.

Then it was time for the professionals. A double header was lined up for Friday night which started at 8:45pm with Ali Al Sayed and Countrymen, the UAE’s “Fresh Prince of Comedy”, presenting a fresh take on UAE society with their act “Emiritization”. Fusing irony and sarcasm with anecdotal jokes, the comedians drew enough laughs from the packed audience to get them out of breath and their sides in stitches.

This was followed by Amro Qatamesh, the winner of Arabs Got Talent, at 10pm. And the volume only grew louder with the wit of this talented performer, the cackle and peals of laughter being audible from quite a distance as Qatamesh took incidents from everyday Arabic life, dissected them and found their inherent ironic humour, providing a memorable end to an evening filled with hilarity.
 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Jan 27, 2013

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