You might have thought that Arabs couldn’t get any funnier. Think again. The funniest Arabs in London are back on stage, in the flesh, funnier than ever before in the Elgar Room.
Widely regarded as one of the hottest comedy nights among the Arab community and beyond, Arabs Are Not Funny! sees comedians with roots in the Arab world showcasing their talents and attempting to prove the naysayers wrong.
Line-up:
Farah Sharp
Isabelle Farah
Esther Manito
Julie-Yara Atz
Ily Hamdia
Farah Sharp
Named ‘One to watch’ in the Funny Women Awards, Farah has been featured on BBC Radio 4 and regularly performs in major venues across the country and abroad. “Farah Sharp is very funny. I saw her first!” – Seann Walsh
Isabelle Farah
A British-Lebanese actor, comedian, and writer. After an undergraduate in French and Film studies, she trained at Drama Studio and the Soho Theatre Comedy Lab. As an actress, she has performed in theatre in the West End and on tour, and gigged across the UK, Lisbon, Beirut, and New York City. Her short, Breakfast, was a finalist in the Funny Women Shorts Prize, and her debut show, Ellipsis, a mix of theatre and comedy, was commended for the Screenshot Award, both in 2020. Her first two shows had sellout runs at EdFringe in 2021 and 2022 and she was described as a Next Big Thing by the Evening Standard. She also narrates audiobooks and TV documentaries, but her finest work is playing a glazed ham in a crisps commercial.
Esther Manito
Esther Manito brings you her award winning brand-new stand-up hour ‘#NotAllMen’ after a successful and critically acclaimed award nominated 2019 show. This autobiographical show takes you back to the 90s: lad mags, calling landlines and trying to imagine what she should ever hope for from a future spouse! Being told by the media around her that her Middle Eastern heritage was filled with misogynistic men (compared to western fellas) seemed very confusing to this Arab Essex teen. As seen on Live at the Apollo, Hypothetical, ITV, Comedy Central, Celebrity Pointless, and Radio 4’s Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life.
Julie-Yara Atz
A Syrian-Swiss hybrid actor whose journey to comedy started through their research on storytelling and narrative structures. A cultural anomaly, they are just as comfortable in drama as they are in comedy and are especially interested in the weird, experimental forms in-between.
Ily Hamdia
Of Moroccan heritage and London-based, this comedian makes audiences laugh with his unique view on differing cultures. Ily’s comedy blends sharp observations with a dash of absurdity.