A performer who can seamlessly blend comedy and hard-hitting, emotional theatre is a rare find, but Alaa Shehada is certainly that. In just 75 minutes, Shehada takes the audience on a journey through his childhood in Jenin, Palestine in the early 2000s to the present day. From childhood best friends to first dates, Shehada’s set is full of comedically relatable moments, and yet these recollections are interspersed with a darker kind of memory, coloured by the violence of the Israeli occupation.
These more hard hitting moments are not revealed until later on, and the show opens with what resembles a mini stand-up set. Shehada takes to the stage with a mic to energise the audience and set a comedic, comfortable tone in the theatre. He then launches into his main performance, which is a series of stories recounted—often comedically—with the help of atmospheric background music and lighting. Much of his comedy had an exaggerated clowning feel, which drew some laughs, but was not to my personal taste. It was his audiences interactions and stand-up skits that I found to be the truly hilarious part of this performance.
While his comedic ability certainly was strong, it was his storytelling that shone throughout this show. Shehada’s ability to completely immerse the audience within one of his childhood recollections was phenomenal, and this elevated his performance beyond just a mere comedy show. His ability to segue between moments of humour and more serious moments was seamless—one second you’re catching your breath laughing, and the next you have goosebumps as all the lights in the theatre go out and Shehada recounts the violence that occurred outside a theatre he was performing at in Palestine in 2023.
The sound and lighting design throughout the show is very effective at differentiating the comedic moments from the more sombre and are key components in turning this one-man show from a piece of stand-up to a fully fledged theatrical performance.
The Horse of Jenin is both a riotously funny and deeply moving show about life in Palestine throughout the Israeli occupation, and a must-see this Fringe season.
The Horse of Jenin is running until 30 August at Beyond, Pleasance Courtyard. Buy tickets here.
Image by Kamerich & Budwilowitz, provided to The Student as press material.
