‘Showtime from the Frontline’ with comedian Mark Thomas

1 Jun 2020 News

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It’s a win-win! You can watch an incredible show and raise money for the New Wolsey Theatre while you watch!

On Tuesday 9th June at 7.30pm, Go Faster Stripe will be streaming their recording of Showtime from the Frontline with a live introduction from comedian Mark Thomas and a live Q & A from London and Palestine after the show. Tickets are £5 and 20% of your ticket purchase goes to the New Wolsey if you book here.

A comedy club. In Palestine. In a refugee camp. What could go wrong?

 

Showtime from the Frontline

By Mark Thomas, Faisal Abu Alhayjaa and Alaa Shehada.

Directed by Joe Douglas.

Name the comedian who might say ‘I wonder if I can set up a comedy club… in a refugee camp… in Palestine?’ Of course, it’s Mark Thomas. And that is exactly what he tries to do.

Dodging cultural and literal bullets, Israeli incursions and religion, Mark and his team set out to run a comedy club and put on two nights in the Palestinian city of Jenin. Only to find that it is not so simple to celebrate freedom of speech in a place with so little freedom.

Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold for the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade during the Second Intifada, is not a place synonymous with laughs. But it is also home to the Jenin Freedom Theatre and to people with a wealth of stories to tell.

Mark tells this story alongside Faisal Abu Alhayjaa and Alaa Shehada, two performers, actors and now aspiring comics from the Jenin Club. This is a story about being yourself in a place that wants to put you in a box. Funny, moving and necessary, Mark says it’s the nearest he will ever get to Alan Parker’s ‘Fame.’

Age Guidance: 14+

★★★★★ ‘A genuinely vital piece of theatre… feels like a direct descendant to the popular and political theatre of Joan Littlewood.’ All Edinburgh Theatre

★★★★ ‘This defiant comedy that gives a voice to the voiceless.’ The Guardian

★★★★ ‘This engaging, thought-provoking and extremely funny show breaks down common stereotypes and preconceptions one joke at a time.’ The Telegraph

★★★★ ‘A winning marriage of stand-up and storytelling.’ The Times