It’s the question that can plague even the most seasoned of comedians: do I still have it?
And after what veteran Emirati performer Ali Al Sayed experienced when returning to the stage after three months away, that question can be applied to the crowd as well.
To be fair to both, this was not the typical kind of gig.
Al Sayed’s set was part of the Restart Dubai conference, held in July at Dubai World Trade Centre. With this being the first major event in the emirate in the wake of the pandemic, Al Sayed admits both he and the crowd were rusty.
“It was really interesting in that from the stage, I saw the crowd and their eyes seemed rather glazed. This is what I call the 'Netflix face' ... we spent so much time watching television at home that many people didn’t know what to do in a live performance any more," he recalls.
“Normally, I have some material in the opening that would make people laugh and build momentum but it wasn’t working. I thought the show went horribly, but someone from the crowd said that people enjoyed it. I couldn’t tell because everyone was wearing a mask.”
The situation has gradually changed since that gig. While he has now returned to his open-ended weekly residency at Dubai's Antika Bar, the emirate's entertainment landscape is also back in full swing.
Although his show will follow stringent health guidelines including limited capacity and social distancing measures, Al Sayed says he is glad to be back on stage and looking at people’s faces once again. This time around, masks are only worn when guests make their way in or out of the venue.
“It makes you not take anything for granted,” he says. “And by that I am not just referring to the stage, but the audience as well. Being able to stand in front of them again after all these months made me really appreciate how, as stand-up comics, our job is not just to tell jokes but to initiate that relationship with people as well.
"Because, at the end of the day, stand-up comedy is really a duet between the comedian and the crowd.”
Helping a new generation of comedians
And Al Sayed knows his audience well.
For nearly 15 years, he blazed a pioneering path as an Emirati stand-up comic, instructor and event organiser.
When it came to the former, not only did he perform across Europe and the US, he also landed his own special on the TV network Comedy Central with a 2017 set shot at The Square in Dubai.
As for his work behind the scenes, he played a leading part in establishing the 2015 Dubai Comedy Festival which brought stars such as Dave Chappelle and Hannibal Buress to the UAE. In addition, he also set up – alongside his American comic wife Mina Liccione – Dubomedy, a performance school teaching the next generation of comics in the UAE.
Al Sayed admits he doesn't envy any fresh talent stepping on stage today. While serious about his craft, he laments how stand-up comedy is presently viewed without humour and context. This often results in comedians overcompensating to the detriment of their material.
“Too many newer comics today are just over correcting their positions on things before they even tell a joke,” he says. “So you will find someone, for example, say ‘look, I am a feminist and I believe in this and that’ before they start talking about their significant other and that takes away from the material.”
Too many newer comics today are just over correcting their positions on things before they even tell a joke
Al Sayed is not advocating for comics to try to shock audiences, that would be too tacky. Seasoned comics are often responsible, he says, because they know how far to push the crowd.
What he is urging, however, is for audiences to simply enjoy the material for what it is.
“As long as you are not attacking anybody and stick to your subject, then you should have that conversation and hopefully even move that subject forward,” he says.
'I view my shows as an experiment'
With weekly shows to perform, Al Sayed will use his residency to explore many personal topics, including raising his 2-year-old twins amid the pandemic.
While he's confident about his material, he admits it may take the crowd extra time to warm up.
“Normally, when the crowd comes to a comedy show they are excited and ready to laugh. But now, with the pandemic, they come to shows with that extra stress because they have to be extra conscious about so many things, such as wearing that face mask, carrying that hand sanitiser and being extra careful about social distancing,” he says.
“I totally understand that and this is why I view my shows as an experiment. We are learning how to have fun again.”
Ali Al Sayed performs every Tuesday at 8pm at Antika Bar; Dh80; Level one, Al Fattan Currency House; DIFC, Dubai; for reservations, call 050 735 9177 or 050 972 917
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)
Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
