Palestine Comedy Club
The Horse of Jenin tells a universal story of resilience and imagination. This show combines storytelling, mask and stand-up comedy to explore the everyday life of a boy growing up in Jenin in Occupied Palestine, who, like every child in the world, just wants to play and have fun.
Following a major invasion in 2002, a German artist travelled to the city to create an artwork with the kids of Jenin. They built a horse, five-metres tall, out of metal and debris from the invasion. The people of Jenin placed this statue in the centre of the city where it stood for 20 years. In October 2023, an Israeli army bulldozer entered the camp and the horse was ripped from its place. In this solo show, explore what happened to the Horse of Jenin with a powerful mix of imagination and comedy.
Warnings: Strong language / Themes of displacement / Loss / Grief / War / Military occupation / Destruction of cultural symbols / Brief complete darkness
Talking Theatre post-show discussion: Fri 25 Sep
ISL Interpreted Performance: Sat 26 Sep, 7:30pm
WRITTEN & CREATED BY Alaa Shehada & Sam Beale
CREATIVE PRODUCER Qasim Salam
CAST Alaa Shehada
TICKETS €36 | €33 (concession)
RUNNING TIME 85 mins no interval
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Palestine Comedy Club is a comedy production company established in the UK and Palestine by Palestinian stand-up comedian, Alaa Shehada, with assistance from comedy director, writer and researcher Dr. Sam Beale, and film producer, Charlotte Knowles.
Under the leadership of Alaa Shehada, Palestine Comedy Club is working to establish a stand-up comedy circuit across the West Bank providing space and funds for emerging stand-up comedy talent in the region to hone their craft and develop a culture of live comedy performance that is unique to the Palestinian experience.
Palestine Comedy Club’s first show, ‘Balad’ (بلد ) toured to venues in Ramallah, Nablus, Haifa, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Jenin in 2021. Performed by Alaa Shehada, Hanna Shammas, Raed Sheukhi, Diana Swity, Ebaa Monther and Khalil Al-Batran, ‘Balad’ explores the complexity of Palestinian identity as it is experienced across the entire region, from Hebron to the Golan Heights.
*Please be advised, more tickets are available through the Dublin Theatre Festival box office