‘Comedy is my seed of hope’: UK Palestinian comic Sami Abu Wardeh on his Edinburgh show

A growing wave of Palestinian performers are using comedy to tell their stories of occupation, exile and war

The war in Gaza is a topic many avoid discussing, let alone joke about. But for Palestinian comedians, humour has become an essential tool for keeping life going while loved ones live under occupation and bombardment.

“A lot of Palestinian solidarity events are, rightfully, about grieving,” said the British Palestinian comedian Sami Abu Wardeh. “They’ll read out the names of children and all these atrocities, and then you leave depressed. We have to avoid that at all costs.”