A short review for a short show… It was advertised and previously reviewed with a running time of one hour and 25 minutes, but somewhere along the line the 25 minutes have been cut. Whether that has helped the production or otherwise is difficult to say; I feel that more time to contextualise the content may perhaps have been beneficial. Nonetheless it’s an entertaining hour of comic storytelling/stand-up comedy with a broad historical narrative starting from the Palestinian revolutions of 1848, bringing us through to the current day, and telling tales of love, war, colonialism, resistance, and describing how ‘silliness collides with survival’. We hear the story of a Palestinian man who falls in love with an Algerian revolutionary who is engaged in countering the French occupation.
It’s a one man show forming part of Live Theatre’s eclectic and extensive Spring 26 to Spring 27 programme, with comedian Sami Abu Wardeh, an accomplished actor, dancer, singer and mime, who also skilfully vocalises all the sound effects. Sami moves in an out of various characters and also regales us with his own personal story; the best line of the night is when he relates his response to a racist telling him to go back to where he came from; “I’m Palestinian. I’m trying”.
Catch it if you can. All in all a good – if short – night out.
