Lebanese-American stand-up comedian Nemr Abou Nassar will perform in Dubai as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Nemr Abou Nassar
Lebanese-American stand-up comedian Nemr Abou Nassar will perform in Dubai as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Nemr Abou Nassar
Lebanese-American stand-up comedian Nemr Abou Nassar will perform in Dubai as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Nemr Abou Nassar
Lebanese-American stand-up comedian Nemr Abou Nassar will perform in Dubai as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Nemr Abou Nassar

Dubai Comedy Festival line-up: Nemr, Eddie Griffin and Maz Jobrani among first wave of headline acts


Sophie Prideaux
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai Comedy Festival returns to the city in May, and it promises to bring more laughs than ever with its host of headline acts.

The festival has revealed its first wave of names, and they include some of the world’s biggest comedy stars. Joining the 10-day event’s line-up for 2021 will be Gad Elmaleh, Eddie Griffin, Maz Jobrani and Nemr, as well as popular Russian comedians Alexander Revva, Mikhail Galustyan and Yevgeniy Chebatkov.

Dubai Comedy Festival will take place across multiple Dubai venues, which will be holding events, live entertainment, and food and drink pop-ups for the duration. The family-friendly event will be following all necessary safety precautions to protect guests against Covid-19.

Here’s a little more information about some of the comedians involved.

Gad Elmaleh

French-Moroccan stand-up comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh has become a household name in the French-speaking world, and has more recently made a name for himself in the US. He has starred in several feature films, including Coco, Priceless, La Doublure and Midnight in Paris.

Voted the funniest person in France, he was also recently named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture, as well as a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. Known as the "Seinfeld of France", Elmaleh has performed numerous sold-out world tours, and was the star of 2019 Netflix series Huge in France.

Eddie Griffin

Funnyman actor-turned-comedian Eddie Griffin has built a solid fanbase since bursting on to the comedy scene in 1990. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Griffin has starred in the likes of The Pastor, opposite Dave Chappelle, as well as in 2018's Academy Award-winning film A Star is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. His Showtime Comedy Special Eddie Griffin: Undeniable debuted on Showtime in February 2018 to rave reviews.

Maz 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 US 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

Lebanese-American stand-up comic Nemr Abou Nassar, known simply as Nemr, is no stranger to performing in Dubai. In fact, he is largely 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 US and 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 all across the Middle East.

Alexander Revva and Mikhail Galustyan 

Russian comedians Alexander Revva and Mikhail Galustyan will perform their hit show, Funny and Even Funnier, as part of the Dubai Comedy Festival. Debuting on Tuesday, May 18, at Dubai Opera, the show will be a mix of scripted and improvised content – offering the audience an element of surprise.

Dubai Comedy Festival will take place between Thursday, May 13 and Saturday, May 22. More names and ticket information will be released shortly. More information is at dubaicomedyfest.ae

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Read more:

'Mamma Mia!' is coming to Dubai Opera for the first time

Michael McIntyre to make Abu Dhabi debut at Etihad Arena in July

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