If you are based or staying in Jeddah, you must have heard about the Jeddah Comedy Club. Launched late 2012, the JCC has made history! They are a registered official platform for local stand-up comedians to showcase their talent; not only that, they also nurture up and coming talents. Live entertainment in Saudi Arabia is very hard to find but that’s why Jeddah Comedy Club is quickly becoming a “must attend” event for locals and tourists who are visiting Jeddah.
Jeddah Comedy Club was created by Yaser Bakr, a Saudi blogger and comedian himself in association with other comedians. All JCC events are sold out from two to three days of putting the tickets on sale!
We sat down with Khaled Omar who is the creative architect in Jeddah Comedy Club and had this quick chat for Arab News:
How did the idea of Jeddah Comedy Club see the light? What inspired it?
The popularity of stand-up comedy in the recent years in Saudi Arabia is almost like no other form of entertainment has experienced; this fact inspired the founders to start the comedy club, which is the proper platform to nurture and develop stand-up comedians.
What are the difficulties that you faced, especially at the beginning?
Any new venture is usually faced with many difficulties, and we had our share of them; but the support and love we found from the people made it all worth it. I would say that the legalization and proper documentation were challenging at the beginning, we were enrolled under SASCA who are our official partner and big supporter!
The feedback of what JCC have been doing is great! In your opinion, what made JCC what it is today?
The number one reason why we are doing well is our great fans and the people who supported the club by attending every show we host. In addition to that, we wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for our talented comedians who are constantly improving and always learning.
Tell us about the local comedians you guys have embraced and supported.
It has been great! Through the auditions that we host every other week; we have met 700 great applicants; 100 of them actually made it and performed in our shows; and now we have 30 active comedians performing nationally and internationally
What has been the best thing that happened to Jeddah Comedy Club?
It has to be the Balad historic event (Kunna-Kidda) in 2014 where we managed to produce what is considered the biggest stand-up comedy event in Saudi Arabia.
About 7,000 people attended 10 shows featuring 34 of the top comedians in the country. It was great to be part of this event as we were promoting new local talents and also supporting our heritage.
In one word how would you describe Yaser Bakr?
Bald
What are your future plans? Any stand-up in English?
Expanding into other cities and countries in addition to starting our own production arm, also nurturing the talents through representation services. As for the English stand-up, we currently have some English stand-up segments especially if the main act is an English speaker; but we haven’t had a full show yet; however it’s definitely on our radar.
How can people reach you through social media?
@jedcomedyclub on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Any last words for Arab News readers?
We really want to thank our fans! In the second version of “Kunna-Kidda” which occurred this year, we had over 3,000 people in just three days! We are constantly working on improving our shows and raising the entertainment value in Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah Comedy Club: A platform for comedians
Jeddah Comedy Club: A platform for comedians
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
