WEST BANK: First ever Palestinian female stand up comedian performs in the West Bank

Record ID: 561615

  • Title: WEST BANK: First ever Palestinian female stand up comedian performs in the West Bank
  • Date: 10th August 2008
  • Summary: WIDE OF AUDIENCE WATCHING
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAEN5AE8AFFTCZGHRJK22RMPODJ
  • Story Text: With humour and irony, American-born Palestinian comedian Maysoon Zaid addresses her identity crisis and her views on Palestinian society in a stand up comedy show she is bringing this summer to the West Bank stage.
    The first female Muslim comedian in the United States, Zaid now also bears the title of the first ever Palestinian female comedian to perform in the Palestinian territories.
    While successful as a comedian in the United States, Zaid spends every summer in the Middle East, running centres for disabled orphans at the Palestinian refugee camp, Jalazoon, in the West Bank.
    Growing up with cerebral palsy, Zaid is helping disabled children cope with the struggles of life by teaching them comedy and drama acting.
    This summer she has decided to bring some laughter to adult audiences in the Palestinian territories.
    Her stand up comedy show, "Stranger in my country", runs in West Bank cities for the first time ever. Her performance in the city of Bethlehem on Saturday (August 9) attracted dozens of spectators.
    "Stranger in my Country, came from the fact that when I am in the United States, people think I am not American, that I am Arab. In Palestine, everyone thinks I am a foreigner. So wherever I go I am a stranger in my country. That is where I got the idea from," Zaid said.
    Zaid, in her early thirties, is a popular comedian in the U.S., where she was born and raised. She delivers jokes about her Islamic identity and her father's view of her profession and her virginity, amongst other subjects stemming from her life as a disabled Muslim Arab woman.
    Her frequent visits to the Palestinian territories contributed to her insight on Israeli-Palestinian relations, and her show features a comic look on the life of Palestinians surrounded by barriers and separated by Israeli checkpoints.
    "I really enjoy performing comedy shows in Palestine. It is not a very well-known art form here. And we, in Palestine, live under pressure and sadness. So I think we need to laugh to be able to think," Zaid said.
    The audience was moved by her humour, as well as her humanitarian enterprise.
    "We would like to see Maysoon in every part of Palestine. We respect her aim and the projects she is doing here. She hasn't given up on the country and frequently visits. We respect Maysoon first of all because she makes us laugh and secondly for her humanitarian projects," said Sandreen.
    "She made me cry, this young woman. Her story is very moving. We lack her candour in Palestinian society because we think too much of ourselves sometimes. What she is doing is really great and teaches us something about ourselves, that we should improve on ourselves for the future. So I really enjoyed it and encourage everyone to attend this performance," said Maryam, another audience member.
    Zaid is scheduled to hold a series of shows in various West bank cities until the end of August.
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