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Palestine Stands Up : The Stand 4**** - One4Review

Palestine Stands Up : The Stand 4****

| On 20, Aug 2025

The Stand is known for giving acts a voice, and tonight that voice belonged to Palestine. Five of the finest Palestinian comedians descended on the basement stage, and from the moment the drum beats called them in — all the acts circling the mic like a storytelling ring — you knew it was going to be something special. It had a ritualistic quality, a sense of community and solidarity you don’t often see at the Fringe, and it set the tone for the night: not just stand-up, but stand-together.
Our host, Alaa Shehada, is a blast. A co-founder of the Palestine Comedy Club, he’s been championing and developing Palestinian voices for years, and tonight he’s the glue that holds the show together. He whips up the crowd with his opening gambit about how he is here but Allah is everywhere — a cheeky, clever opener. Then comes his story of navigating border questions and visa checks, where “reverse psychology” is sometimes the only strategy. From the off, he’s warm, quick, and impossible not to like.
First up is Marena Riggan, a Palestinian-American comedian, and she is pure comedy gold. Living and working in an isolated Texas community, she mines the surreal parallels between Palestine and Texas, and the crowd eat it up. Her riffs on men trying to talk dirty to her in Arabic, her checkpoint stories, and being “love-bombed” by Israelis are razor-sharp. She’s got that rare combination of vulnerability and bite — you can see immediately why she’s breaking through.
Hanna Shammas is next, and he absolutely smashes it. He opens by explaining how his surname often gets mispronounced as “Smells Asses,” which sets the tone for a set full of surprises. From therapy (and why ChatGPT might be cheaper) to the supposed miracle properties of magnesium, his material is both inventive and self-effacing. There’s an easy rapport with the crowd, and laughter rolls in waves.
Then comes the find of the night: Diana Sweity. She strolls on with the killer opener: “My English is weak, but it’s still better than your Arabic.” The room erupts. From there, she spins out a brilliant set, starting with how she was named after Princess Diana, then moving to jokes about passports that are anything but bulletproof. But the highlight is her Fringe-meets-Palestine routine, imagining what life in Edinburgh would be like under the daily realities of occupation. It’s sharp, subversive, and possibly the skit of the festival so far. Pure genius.
Closing the night is Sami Abu Wardeh, a South London comedian of Irish and Palestinian heritage, who also happens to be an actor with serious film credits — though, as he points out, he’s usually cast as the bad guy. His set mixes sharp social commentary with throwbacks to old-school English and Irishman jokes, which he gleefully upgrades into something Alexei Sayle in his 80s prime would have been proud of. His bit on the definition of resistance is both funny and stirring, delivered with charisma and pace.
All in all, this isn’t just another Fringe showcase — it’s a glorious celebration of Palestinian artists doing what they do best: entertaining, laughing, and connecting, no matter what circumstances life throws at them. Comedy as survival, comedy as resistance, comedy as joy.
****
Reviewed by Steve H
Venue  The Stand
Time 13.30
Until date 20th Aug

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