John Hastings is a regular on the comedy circuit in the UK and across Europe.

By Umer Nangiana

The first real comic treat of the season comes packed with not just one or two but three award-winning internationally acclaimed comedians from overseas.
Having individually proven their mettle in the genre of stand-up comedy at some of the world’s most critically perceptive venues, UK-based comedians Ro Campbell and John Hastings, originally from Canada, along with the talented female comedian from USA, Carmen Lynch are touring Doha for a two-day trip during their Middle East tour.
Invited by The Chuckle Club, the three comedians will perform before the Doha audience for two days on November 9 and 10 at two different venues.
UK-based Australian Ro Campbell’s relentlessly entertaining and award winning brand of cheeky, slightly dark humour has wowed audiences everywhere from Adelaide to Bangalore, Helsinki to Singapore and many places in between.
He has performed at the last 8 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals and made the Scotsman’s pick of Best Joke of the Fringe 2009. In 2010, he was crowned Scottish Comedian of the Year, despite being a non-native.
“Demonstrative and full of energy on stage...Campbell stood up and delivered in style...the belly laughs kept coming so fast that tears were starting to flow...you could travel a long way to see this guy and you wouldn’t be disappointed,” writes The Times about the comedian.  
He has also written for British TV and Radio, featuring regularly on BBC Radio Scotland and Kevin Bridges and Friends Live at The Stand.
He has performed at the NZ Comedy Festival, all over Europe, South East Asia four times, has held shows in India, gone on gruelling tours of Outback Mining towns in Western Australia, played to captive audiences in several Maximum Security prisons and supported Live At The Apollo star Tom Stade on all 47 dates of his 2011 UK Tour.
Campbell recently opened for Kevin Bridges in Australia. In 2013 and 2014, he co-produced 5 star hit show Comedian Rap Battle at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The stand-up comedian besides UK, Ireland and Australia, has performed in many countries including New Zealand, Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Spain, Bahrain, Indonesia, and an island off the coast of Somalia.
He has won 2010 Scottish Comedian of the Year, besides being the finalist of 2009 Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, the semi-finalist of 2005’s So You Think You’re Funny Semi-Finalist, and winner of 2005’s Big Tickle Comedy Festival Competition in Northern Ireland.
John Hastings has been performing stand-up since 2006. He has won the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival Home-grown Competition and was invited back to perform at the festival this year.
In 2012, John moved to the UK where he was given the opportunity to perform as part of the Pleasance Comedy Reserve in 2013. Since then he has performed critically acclaimed solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014 and 2015.
He is a regular on the comedy circuit in the UK and across Europe and in 2014 was featured on Seann Walsh’s Late Night Spectacular at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since then he has been going from strength to strength entertaining audiences across the country engaging them with his sharp punchlines delivered through his observational storytelling style.
Among his many awards, Hastings has been the winner of the 2012 COCA Comedian of the Year, Performer in the 2011 “Pilot Week” comedy writing and performance competition for Insight Prod.
He was the youngest and the only Canadian Finalist of the 2011 San Francisco Comedy Competition and the winner of the 2010 Homegrown Comedy Competition. He has also won Montreal English Critics Circle Awards (MECCAs) and was nominated as Best Newcomer for the 2010 Canadian Comedy Awards besides the Best Taped Performance 2013 Canadian Comedy Awards.
Carmen Lynch from USA recently made her second appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. She has also appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and The Good Wife. Carmen has performed for the troops on several tours in Iraq and Kuwait and recently completed a tour doing stand-up in Spanish throughout Spain and Costa Rica.
Carmen Lynch was born on October 8, 1988 in Maine, USA as Carmen Dyanne Lynch. She is also an actress and writer best known for Amira & Sam (2014), Wanda Sykes Presents Herlarious (2013) and Latino 101 (2010).
The three comics will first perform on November 9 at Dunes, The Grand Hyatt Hotel to be followed with a performance on November 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.