It’s fast becoming a regular fixture in the busy calendars of Qatar’s happy-go-lucky bunch who like to unwind on weeknights with a hearty serving of belly laughs. This month, The Laughter Factory (TLF) has announced that three eclectic stand-up acts will perform two guaranteed howlarious gigs at the Grand Hyatt Doha.
Comedians Larry Dean and Allyson June Smith, making their regional debuts for the long-running comedy institution, will join Nick Dixon to spin a whole lot of funnies. “A garrulous Scot, an over-sharing Canadian and a neurotic Englishman walk into a comedy club. What happens next?” TLF says, building up its upcoming show that will be in Doha at 8pm on October 17 and 18 at Grand Hyatt Doha. TLF’s October tour is one of “dazzling diversity, mixing of-the-moment upstarts with veteran talent, and British reserve with North American reveal.”
The rather original Larry Dean, emerging fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe, was named Scottish Comedian Of The Year in 2013 at age 23, before hitting it big with last year’s solo show Out Now!, which “enjoyed an acclaimed sell-out Edinburgh run”. Dean has been appreciated by The Guardian for his “cheeky-chappie shtick”, and described by the London Evening Standard as “fascinatingly funny”. “This garrulous Glaswegian is already well on the way to becoming a household name. It has been an incredible ascent,” TLF says.
This year has seen Dean star on Live From The BBC on BBC2, having already appeared twice on BBC Presents: Best Of The Edinburgh Festival. He’s also performed alongside some of the biggest names in UK comedy, having supported the likes of Eddie Izzard on tour and performed twice at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, in 2014 and 2015, his bio tells us.
Canadian comic Allyson June Smith has no reservations about delving into the most intimate details of her personal life and its her brash delivery that has made her a celebrity at home, and of late, in the UK as well. Since 2000, Smith has been tickling Canada’s comedy scene from the moment she put down the chalk brush and picked up a mic, her bio says.
“Playing to packed rooms has become like another day in the classroom for this former school teacher. Her credits include her own hour-long Comedy Now special, appearances on CBC Radio’s hit show The Debaters, and the Winnipeg, Halifax and Just For Laughs Festivals, to name just a few. A multiple Canadian Comedy Award nominee for Best Female Stand-Up, she performs for audiences ranging from corporations to the most rural of gatherings. Whether she was the emcee, support, or headliner, she’s delighted them all.”
As for British funnyman Nick Dixon, he hasn’t looked back since he reached the final stages of The Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year in 2011 after just three months of stand-up experience.
Steadily rising on the UK circuit, newcomer Dixon is held in high regard by his contemporaries and industry officials alike. He has recently recorded his second televised stand-up performance, for The Comedy Store on Comedy Central. Within a year of his feat at the 2011 event, he was one of a select few (chosen from over 800 applicants) to perform in BBC Radio 2’s prized New Comedy Awards, his bio reveals.
“Nick has crafted a unique and distinctive style. He masterfully combines acerbic wit and intelligent, edgy writing with vulnerability and self-deprecation to winning effect. His sharp writing is complemented with scrupulously perfected timing and an assured delivery. He is noted for his well-crafted, quality joke-writing and is proud to have had his work broadcast on BBC Radio 4 so early in his career.”
TLF gigs have been gaining fast currency in Doha and Dubai — and the comedians, too, seem to be liking the tour. As German stand-up comedian Christian Schulte-Loh told Community, after his gig here in August, “I have really enjoyed the tour. The audiences have been very international, which is always great fun. I call it ‘Expat Heaven’ here. It’s like Luxembourg or Brussels, only with oil and a desert.
“Then again, Luxembourg feels a bit like a desert, too. But really, my favourite crowds are the diverse, international ones. And that’s what I’ve had here. I love working the crowd and having jokes for every nationality, culture and social group. A Sheikh next to an American expat, next to a Greek tourist – that’s just perfect. It feels a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest – or in your case: the World Cup 2022.”