Presented by The Cultch and Rumble Theatre Produced by Tough Crowd (London, UK)
Palestine Comedy Club
October 09–10, 2026
Location: York Theatre (639 Commercial Dr)
Tickets starting at $20!
Buy Tickets Here!
Why Palestine Comedy Club, and not The Horse of Jenin?
This slot was meant for Alaa Shehada’s solo show, The Horse of Jenin. Alaa has been waiting for over a year but his Canadian visa remains stuck in limbo, and his Vancouver performances have now been cancelled twice. Palestine Comedy Club is going ahead in their place. Help bring Alaa here by sending your MP a personalized message. It takes two minutes.
Palestine Comedy Club is a road-movie following six Palestinian stand-up comedians from Haifa, Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron and the Golan Heights as they devise a show exploring the dark humour of Palestinian identity. With no tradition of comedy clubs and communities divided by walls and checkpoints, connecting across the divides proves enormously challenging. Despite differing travel permissions, the tour gains momentum and audiences flock in. As war erupts at home, performing in English to a conflicted British public becomes an existential mission to find joy and connection through laughter.
OCT 09 & 10 | 7:30PM — all tickets $20
OCT 10 | 2:00PM — This matinee performance is Pay-What-You-Choose, with proceeds donated to Gaza Soup Kitchen
RUNNING TIME 90 MINUTES, NO INTERMISSION
CREDITS
Director: Alaa Aliabdallah ‘Regash’
Producer & Co-Director: Charlotte Knowles
Comedians: Alaa Shehada, Hanna Shammas, Diana Sweity, Ebaa Monther, Khalil Al Batran, Raed Al-Shyoukhi, Sam Beale
Photography: Alaa Aliabdallah ‘Regash’, Ahmad Alawneh, Abdallah Juneidi, Charlotte Knowles, Ahmad Saleh
Drone Photography: Mahmoud Abdat and Shehadeh Abu Ghalion
Editor: Libby Knowles
Graphics: Shahd Issa
Music: Khalil Al Batran and Faris Amin
Musicians: Ayham Jalal (ney, buzuq), Said Diab (buzuq), Kareem Barakat (guitar), Yousof (violin), Loor Amin (qanun), Faris Amin (cello, oud), Khalil Al Batran (percussion)
Music Recording and Mix: Julmud
Colour Grading Lab: Filmhouse Palestine
Colour Grade: Nour Abukamal
In-house Producer: Ola Salama
Sound Design: Rana Eid
Dialog Editor and Re-recording Mixer: Florent Lavallée
Sound Effects Editor: Tarek Dandan
Foley Artist: Patrick Chakar
Executive Producers: Carri Twigg, Esther van Messel, Maryam Pasha, Mikail Chowdhury, Farzana Rahman
Raccoon Media Services: Charlotte Layton, Imran Ramzan
Video and imagery supplied by AFPTV, Albatross Aerial Photography, Anadolu, BASHAR TALEB, BBC, BlackBoxGuild, CCTV+, Eddie Gerald, EYAD BABA, FedNet, Gal Productions, Ibrahim Jabarin, Image Bank Film, Katsumi Murouchi, mikroman6, NurPhoto, Peresmeh, Rick Steves, Sepia Times, SOPA Images and Spoonfilm via Getty Images
Additional video supplied by Al Quds Media
Satellite imagery supplied by Google Maps
International sales First Hand Films
Produced in association with Counterpoints Arts, LDNO Productions and X Equals Productions
Supported by the National Youth Advocate Program
With special thanks to Troupe Courage