A Kuwaiti stand-up comedian took audiences by a storm of laughs last night, performing to a nearly sold-out crowd at Epix Cinemas, Dana Mall.
Zahra “Zouz” Al Mahdi returned for her second performance in Bahrain – and her first headline show in Manama – with opening acts by Bahraini comedians Ammar Bin Rajab and Amani Khalaf.
Mr Bin Rajab and Ms Khalaf’s sets, which kicked off the show, warmed up the crowd for their colleague’s witty musings, while comedian Abdulla Nezar emceed the event.
“It’s a great audience, I felt comfortable to say what I wanted to say, without limiting myself,” Ms Al Mahdi told the GDN.
The artist-turned-comedian drew on her personal experiences, transforming difficult times and awkward incidents from her life into moments of roaring laughter and applause.
She explored topics like gender, trauma and societal expectations, humorously subverting clichés in Arab comedy.
The 35-year-old Kuwaiti, who has family ties in Bahrain said that she was a stand-up ‘nerd’ before trying her hand at comedy.
“Doing standup has always been strange because I approach it as a writer,” she noted.
In terms of inspiration, she stated that she likes to challenge herself ‘by making something uncomfortable or unconventional funny’, and ‘by finding humour in the mundane or things people don’t usually find funny’.
Ms Al Mahdi is part of a growing wave of Arabic-speaking comedians in the Gulf and the Arab world, who are taking the medium into their own hands and reshaping it to reflect local dialects and culture.
“I think it’s very important for GCC comedians to collaborate with each other more, because I believe that entertainment in the Gulf shouldn’t be represented by each country individually,” she said.
Mr Bin Rajab said he also appreciates the growing trend towards Arabic content and performances.
“For a while, stand-up was strictly in English, and a large portion of the audience couldn’t enjoy this art due to the lack of diversity and inclusiveness,” the content creator added. Ms Khalaf, who spent the last decade living in Kuwait, said that a stand-up scene ‘that wasn’t here before’ was created in recent years, which is why she gave the medium a shot.
Ms Al Mahdi’s previous performance in Bahrain was part of a showcase organised by the comedy club Edhak La! last year. She has taken the stage in comedy clubs in several countries, including Germany, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
The multi-talented artist said she has a special relationship with Bahrain – its culture, people and places.
“My family on my father’s side – the majority of them are in Bahrain,” she said.
“I spent so much time here during my childhood, so I consider myself to be half-Bahraini.
“As an adult, I got to know Bahrain in a different way when I started coming here on my own with my friends. So, I have a relationship with Bahrain from a familial side, and another as an individual that I formed on my own, later on.”
Hundreds of people attended the event last night and among them was Mansoor Al Ekri, who described the show as ‘relatable’.
“The performers went outside the box. They crossed lines that aren’t usually crossed, which was refreshing. That’s what comedy shows are supposed to be like,” he said.
In 2023, Ms Al Mahdi appeared on Stand Up! Ya Arab!, an OSN show featuring different comedians from the Arab World, each performing in their own dialect.
Besides stand-up comedy, she is a professional artist, and has written and illustrated a bilingual graphic novel about the Kafkaesque trials of characters navigating bureaucracy and social norms.
She also has an online short-video series titled Haltooma (Arabic for ‘rant’), where she discusses topics that interest or irritate her, along with series titled Sketchbook Histories and Bird Watch.
“I’ve always been an artist who starts with an idea – ideas come before form. Whatever I did, when it comes to film or paintings, depended on the idea,” she said. “Some ideas lean more towards jokes and performances. For me, art and comedy come from the same place.”
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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