ABU DHABI // An Emirati, an Armenian American, a Lebanese, an Australian Singaporean, a Brit and an American walk into a hotel …
What sounds like a twist on an old chestnut describes the diversity of the UAE's first all-female stand-up comedy troupe, Funny Girls.
And the wide range of backgrounds is no accident.
They were brought together to bridge the UAE's culture gap, and to reflect and represent the melting pot that is Dubai - with laughter.
That is the beauty of comedy, says Mina Liccione, a professional comedienne and the group's founder. It "brings people together".
Speaking ahead of the group's Tuesday night show at Coopers in the Park Rotana, Ms Liccione says: "If all these women had been British, I wouldn't have put the troupe together. "We are all from such different walks of lives and we pick people purposely from different backgrounds because we want this show to represent Dubai; to show its colour and its flavour."
After moving to Dubai from the US, she noted the lack of a local comedy scene. Three years ago, she and her business partner and fiance, Ali al Sayed, created the UAE's first comedy school, Dubomedy.
In recent months Dubomedy launched the country's first improvisation troupe, which is in training, after forming Funny Girls last year. Plans are for the troupe to change members every year to give voice to the city's different communities.
So far, so good - even in the UAE's conservative environment, says Ms Liccione.
"Comedy is known for being brash and women are brought up to be prim and proper, but we let people know they can do comedy that is halal," she says.
"We don't swear, we don't talk about sex and we don't talk about certain other things, but we are still extremely funny."
The troupe has already received positive feedback from female audience members, adds Susan Strickland, the Brit, who was new to comedy before taking classes at Dubomedy several years ago.
"Women come up to me and say they are proud," Ms Strickland says. "The troupe is another way of giving women a voice - a strong, powerful and funny voice."
There have been a few kinks. Last week the group's Emirati member, Ms Liccione's soon-to-be sister-in-law Shaima al Sayed, had to barge past a reluctant bouncer to make her professional debut.
"I was heading down the stairs at one of the Rotana venues to go to the pub we were performing in, and the big bouncer stopped me," says Miss al Sayed. "He wouldn't let me in because I was wearing an abaya and shaila.
"I kept telling him I was part of the performance, but he just kept saying I wasn't allowed in 'dressed like that'. I ignored him, walked down, and was followed by another bouncer."
The troupe will perform at Coopers in Abu Dhabi as part of the Rotana Comedy Tour. The show runs from 8.30pm to 10pm. Entry is free and open only to those over the age of 21.
zalhassani@thenational.ae
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
The%20specs
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
