The Alcomedy Club started early 2012 when a group of comedy “fanatics” decided to take their passion to the next level and start a Saudi comedy club in their hometown Jeddah.
Khaled Omar, creative architect of the club, said that he joined the club back in 2014. “It was a dream that came true,” he said.
None of the members knew each other before the club.
“We were complete strangers to each other before and the club brought us together,” Omar said.
The club used to be named “Jeddah Comedy Club,” but was later changed for brand reasons to “Alcomedy Club.”
Despite the fact that a considerable segment of Jeddah-based residents are English-speaking, the comedy shows, sketches and plays are all performed in Arabic. “We had shy attempts, if I can say, of English-speaking comedians who used to perform English gigs in the past.”
Omar said the club is more focused on local content and local audience.
“Not that we are not interested in an English audience, but they already have this type of entertainment in their compounds, embassies and consulates. As you may know, stand-up comedies started in English. If we go back in 2007 or 2006 in the Italian Club and the American Embassy and other several places, they had English stand-ups. So, we might go English in the future.”
The Saudi sense of humor is quite well known regionally thanks to comedy TV series that are usually featured in the holy month of Ramadan, such as “Tash Ma Tash” and “WiFi.”
Alcomedy Club members are trying to introduce their own comedy live to Saudis, who usually watch such performances on the small screen.
“We introduced Arabic stand-up comedy before anyone would consider the idea,” he said. “If you ask any comedian to do an Arabic routine or gig back in 2007/2008, they would say ‘I don’t think so, it’s more difficult.’ ”
When the club started in 2012, people reacted “amazingly” and were quite impressed by these talents. The audience thought it was “phenomenal” to have Arabic stand-up, especially after years of English-speaking comedy.
What really helped the club in their popularity among Saudi-based audiences is the ongoing dose of laughter and popcorn. The club produces regular shows, where they have a comedy night every Thursday throughout the year.
“I don’t recall any show where we didn’t have full-house nights ever since we started,” Omar said.
The cozy theater of the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts (SASCA), where the Alcomedy Club shows are always held, accommodates up to 200 people per show.
Alcomedy Club is also involved in different events and activities upon request, where their participation ranges from throwing a couple of gigs to organizing entire events that have comedy themes. “We have two types of contracts, where you only get the talent/comedian or the whole package,” Omar told Arab News. “We have bills to pay,” he added laughing.
Omar said that the ticket price reflects the average cost of entertainment here in Saudi Arabia. “If you’re going out on the weekends, SR150/SR200 is the average spending, including snacks and food. In our club, you’re paying SR125 plus free snacks and stuff and some money left for you to get food on your way back. So our prices are average. Not cheap, but not expensive either.”
According to club’s creative architect, 20 to 30 percent of the audience is made up of regular attendees.
“Now, of course, we don’t have the same 30 percent every show, but they rotate from a show to another. We have around 1,800 to 2,000 regular fans who almost never miss a show and then the other 80 percent of them are new visitors.”
The members have a monthly schedule of routines/gigs to use throughout the month in four shows: Two stand-up nights, one improv night and a sketches night where they preform comedy plays. The club’s management does not interfere in the comedian’s material but set up some rules.
“There are three topics – social taboos – the comedians shouldn’t come close to: religion, sex and politics,” Omar said.
A fourth topic has been recently added to the list of taboos: racism. “Racism is, unfortunately, growing in a very scary way in the past three years, to be honest, and the Saudi government is very strict about it so we have received a letter not to talk about it, especially that we are performing on a government stage so we have to follow the rules,” said Omar.
The Jeddah-based club is no longer for Jeddawis only, as the club is planning to expand their shows across the Kingdom’s regions starting in Riyadh by August or September.
Khaled Omar is aspiring to have daily shows in the future instead of weekly nights. “Hopefully, Alcomedy Club will be all over the place five years from now.”
The audience can also get the chance to enjoy music at the end of the show by some local talents featured in the club’s nights. “We also feature some magic tricks on stage performed by magicians, where we find them a 10-minute slot to showcase their talents.”
Most people do not know that Alcomedy Club members all used to have regular professions before joining the club – the Club’s founder Yasser was a marketing vice president at a large company, Muhammed Ali used to work for a designing company. The club’s DJ was an electronic engineer. They dropped out of the corporate world to follow their passion.
Omar used to work in King Abdullah Sports City and is not getting as much income as he used to get from his previous job.
“I don’t regret leaving my job for a second,” Omar said. “It’s never about the money. It’s about living your life – life is short and you’re living it once. You get money to buy happiness and we’re getting it in the club.”
Alcomedy Club consists of 23 individuals who are professional full-time comedians who have exclusive contracts with the club, where they can’t work with any other comedy clubs. “We also have around 30 to 40 people who we have a memorandum of understanding with, where they can keep their own businesses apart from the club,” Omar added.
The club has also featured over 150 comedians who appeared on the club’s stage once or twice. “We have auditioned over 2,000 people to 4,000 during the past five years,” he said.
Local Comedians Magnificent Alliance (LCMA) is another comedy club that has emerged apart from the Alcomedy Club, which is also set to be a weekly show held Tuesdays, for men only.
Alcomedy Club: For humor with a Saudi twist
Alcomedy Club: For humor with a Saudi twist
British woman claims record run across Australia
SYDNEY: British former footballer Fran Hurndall completed a 3,800-kilometer (2,360-mile) charity run across Australia on Sunday, claiming the fastest time on record for a woman.
Raising money for victims of domestic violence, Hurndall ran the distance from Perth to Sydney in 60 days, her team said, despite suffering from an Achilles tendon injury and infected blisters.
“The run has been a wild ride and the physical and mental struggle has been unbelievable,” the 33-year-old said in a statement.
“What I have had to go through is absolutely nothing compared to the struggle of those women who live with the threat of domestic violence every single day.”
Hurndall finished 17 days quicker than the previous claimed women’s record in 2023, a team spokeswoman said, adding that she planned to lodge her accomplishment with Guinness World Records.
Nigerian Dambe boxing goes global — amulets and charms included
- The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers
ABUJA: The first strikes in Dambe are thrown before the boxers even leave their house.
Fighters don charms and amulets, dye their fist or even score their arm with a razor, inserting traditional medicine before it scars over — all guaranteed to protect them in the ring or deliver a knock-out punch.
Combined with prayers from “mallams,” or spiritual guides, they are unstoppable — not just in Nigeria, but increasingly around the world.
The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers.
“Instead of trying to Westernize it, or instead of trying to make it something else, for us the goal is to professionalize it,” said Maxwell Kalu, founder of the West African Fighting Championship, the group organizing the tournament.
At the same time, a key goal is also “opening the door in terms of inviting people to compete in Nigeria.”
Held on the ground of the national stadium and broadcast by DAZN, a British sports streaming service, the tournament is a far cry from the social tradition said to have been organized by 10th-century Hausa butchers.
“This one is big, I’m very happy,” said Abdullahi “Coronavirus” Ali, a 20-year-old who has been fighting since he was a child. “The audience is growing every day.”
As Coronavirus — nicknamed for his ferocious punches — spoke to AFP, two amateur fighters worked the ring behind him, in a pre-tournament exhibition match in Dei Dei, a working-class Abuja exurb.
Chickens pecked under the rickety wooden stands while cigarette smoke wafted above the crowd.
In Dambe, in lieu of a glove, the fighters each have one fist tightly bound in rope — their striking arm. The other hand reaches out, feeling the space between the opponents and looking for something to grab or parry before the fighting arm whips forward as if from a loaded spring.
Amid the blows, one fighter lost his balance and fell — a “kill.” The round was over.
Dambe might have once seemed destined to be confined to the margins in places like Dei Dei as Abuja’s elite paved over anything standing in the way of modern skyscrapers and highways.
But slowly, the government has taken more interest in preserving and promoting the sport, as have private groups like the WAFC.
With the advent of YouTube and Instagram, Dambe now attracts fans across the world, with one promoter telling BBC in 2017 that 60 percent of his viewers were outside Nigeria.
The sport has also grown at home.
In 2018, a Dambe match in the southern city of Lagos drew spectators curious about their northern countrymen’s pastime — and excited to see it in a proper stadium.
Earlier this month, athletes from across the continent descended on the megacity for the African Knockout Championship, a Western-style mixed martial arts tournament.
But Kalu envisions the opposite: foreigners making their way to witness a distinctively Nigerian way of fighting.
Professionalization also brings the opportunity to bring in safety protocols and stable salaries to the otherwise unregulated sport.
“If I get married, I won’t allow my children to do it,” said Usman Abubakar, 20, his fist dyed a dark henna color and arm replete with charmed scars, recalling an injury to the chest that saw him sit out for two years.
Saturday’s fighters were competing to represent Nigeria in what is envisioned as a multi-stage, international series.
Boxers took to a sand-filled ring under stadium lights, with matches interspersed with musical acts and commercial breaks.
“Coronavirus” and his opponent danced around each other, sweat glistening, looking for an opening. He landed a blow, sending a tensed crowd into cheers as spectators overcame their urge to wince in shared pain.
“It’s somehow scary, but I do enjoy it,” said Joy Beatrice, a 30-year-old forestry officer in the stands.
Last year, supported by the WAFC, British national Luke Leyland traveled from Liverpool to compete in a Dambe match — reportedly the first white fighter to ever do so.
He was “destroyed,” according to one local media report, though he wrote positively of the experience.
Nigerian fighters remain cool on the idea of sharing the spoils of victory.
Asked what would happen if non-Nigerians started competing, “Coronavirus,” Abubakar and a third fighter, Anas Hamisu, were all excited at the prospect of more people embracing their sport.
But they also all shared the same prediction: the Nigerians would win.
Roosters banned in north Lebanese village over loud squawking
- Municipal chief tells Arab News keeping the birds as pets where they may cause a nuisance is now illegal
- Decision was made after many villagers also complained of mess, bad odors
BEIRUT: Keeping pet roosters between houses in the northern Lebanese village of Bednayel has been banned after a municipal decision.
Earlier this week, Salaheddine Al-Ayoubi, the municipality chief of Bednayel, in Al-Koura region, issued the decision banning villagers from keeping roosters to maintain public order and prevent loud noises during the daytime.
“It is illegal to (keep) pet roosters between village houses because they squawk loudly and cause mess and awful smell … not only roosters, but also chicken or any other animal that causes public disorder. Tens of residents complained of roosters’ crowing during daytime and due to that I issued the decision,” Al-Ayoubi told Arab News on Saturday.
The decision caused a social media frenzy and triggered uproar amongst internet users, most of whom criticized Al-Ayoubi.
In his decision, which granted villagers a 10-day deadline to get rid of roosters or any other animal that causes noisiness or disorder, Al-Ayoubi said that it was taken in the best interests of Bednayel’s residents, and was meant to maintain public order.
Elaborating further, the municipality chief explained: “Unfortunately, many villagers misinterpreted the decision. Some questioned how their chicken could lay eggs without roosters. Well, chickens do lay eggs without the need of roosters.”
He added the decision did not single out the issue of owning roosters, but it also discussed several other factors which have been causing public nuisance.
“I did not prevent them from owning roosters … whoever wants to keep a rooster, could do so but not between the houses. Tens of residents have complained of the loud crowing at any time during the day. That is not acceptable … so they are free to have roosters away from the houses and not between them,” he told Arab News.
Al-Ayoubi pointed out that anyone who owns a pet must take all necessary measures to prevent any disturbance to residents, such as maintaining cleanliness, limiting noise, and not allowing animals to roam without supervision.
The decision also prohibits driving motorcycles with loud or modified noises and any motorcycle that violates the regulations will be impounded and its driver fined.
“The municipality will take the appropriate legal action against violators,” he added.
Fans bid teary farewell to four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan before their return to China
- Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals
- Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites
SHIRAHAMA, Japan: Thousands of fans bid a teary farewell Friday to a family of four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan’s coastal town of Shirahama as the animals made their last public appearance before their return to China.
Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals. Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites.
Although the 24-year-old mother Rauhin and her three daughters — Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin — were all born and raised at the park, they remain on loan from China and must now be returned.
Once they return to China, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo will be the only pandas left in Japan.
More than 1,000 people, many wearing panda-themed attire, queued outside the entrance of the theme park hours before it opened while some camped outside the night before.
Junko Ikeda, who came from the neighboring prefecture of Nara, slept in her camper van Thursday night to secure a parking spot for the pandas’ send-off.
“I still can’t believe they are all leaving,” Ikeda said.
Giant pandas are native to southwestern China and serve as an unofficial national mascot. Beijing lends them to other countries as a sign of goodwill but maintains ownership over them and any cubs they produce.
Born in 2000, Rauhin had seven other cubs with Eimei, a male panda sent from China in 1994. Eimei returned home two years ago.
Despite strained political ties between Japan and China, giant pandas are hugely popular in Japan.
“We feel comforted just by looking at pandas,” said zoo director Koji Imazu.
Imazu said the departure of the four pandas marks the end of the zoo’s 30-year joint project with China. He thanked Chinese specialists for sharing their expertise with the Japanese staff and said the zoo will be ready for a new arrival at any time.
“Of course we all miss them, but I hope you could wish them good health when they go to China,” Imazu said.
In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said giant pandas are “friendly ambassadors” conveying the goodwill of the Chinese people.
Guo said that China and Japan have collaborated on panda conservation and research since 2000, and that China is ready to further strengthen international cooperation, including with Japan.
Rauhin and her daughters will be flown to China on Saturday where they will join other pandas at a facility in Sichuan province near their original habitat. There, the three young ones will find partners.
These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth
NEW YORK: Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks on Earth from a rock formation in Canada.
The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt has long been known for its ancient rocks — plains of streaked gray stone on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Quebec. But researchers disagree on exactly how old they are.
Work from two decades ago suggested the rocks could be 4.3 billion years old, placing them in the earliest period of Earth’s history. But other scientists using a different dating method contested the finding, arguing that long-ago contaminants were skewing the rocks’ age and that they were actually slightly younger at 3.8 billion years old.
In the new study, researchers sampled a different section of rock from the belt and estimated its age using the previous two dating techniques — measuring how one radioactive element decays into another over time. The result: The rocks were about 4.16 billion years old.
The different methods “gave exactly the same age,” said study author Jonathan O’Neil with the University of Ottawa.
The new research was published Thursday in the journal Science.
Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a collapsing cloud of dust and gas soon after the solar system existed. Primordial rocks often get melted and recycled by Earth’s moving tectonic plates, making them extremely rare on the surface today. Scientists have uncovered 4 billion-year-old rocks from another formation in Canada called the Acasta Gneiss Complex, but the Nuvvuagittuq rocks could be even older.
Studying rocks from Earth’s earliest history could give a glimpse into how the planet may have looked — how its roiling magma oceans gave way to tectonic plates — and even how life got started.
“To have a sample of what was going on on Earth way back then is really valuable,” said Mark Reagan with the University of Iowa, who studies volcanic rocks and lava and was not involved with the new study.
The rock formation is on tribal Inukjuak lands and the local Inuit community has temporarily restricted scientists from taking samples from the site due to damage from previous visits.
After some geologists visited the site, large chunks of rock were missing and the community noticed pieces for sale online, said Tommy Pallizer, who manages the land with the Pituvik Landholding Corp. The Inuit community wants to work with scientists to set up a provincial park that would protect the land while allowing researchers to study it.
“There’s a lot of interest for these rocks, which we understand,” said Pallizer, a member of the community. “We just don’t want any more damage.”
