Saudi comedy festival: Inside the controversial Riyadh event starring comedians Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Jack Whitehall and Jimmy Carr
“There were sex jokes, and trans jokes. It’s really unusual to see this kind of comedy here in Saudi Arabia.”
That’s how one ex-pat summed up the performances she’s seen, at the first ever Riyadh Comedy Festival.
“The response was amazing, I’ve never seen such enthusiasm,” she said, after sets by American stars Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr.
The woman – whom we’re calling Sara – said the comedians avoided discussing Saudi Arabia’s controversial human rights record. But that didn’t particularly bother her.
“People here don’t care about those topics,” she said. “If they did, they wouldn’t live here.”
Outside Saudi Arabia, there are very different perspectives.
Famous comedians such as Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Kevin Hart, Russell Peters and Omid Djalili have been intensely criticised by fellow artists for agreeing to perform at the festival. Others say they turned down invitations.
But some argued it’s a more nuanced picture. While human rights groups have a host of concerns about Saudi Arabia, the country has attempted to transform its image in recent years.
With the festival in full swing, we’ve been speaking to fans and comedians to find out what’s actually happening on the ground – and how people have reacted.
