For Joe Haddad, growing up as a Palestinian in south London was not easy. For starters, he was a Christian Arab, from Jerusalem, in a catholic school, but more depressingly for Joe was that Palestine was not even on the maps and globes he used in school.
PalesTEENian, Haddad’s new work, is a blending of genres, combining stand-up comedy and theatrical storytelling to help Haddad make sense of his own identity, and to educate audiences along the way.
Haddad bursts with ferocious energy, whether it be frantically telling stories about his family gatecrashing a date, his parents’ disdain at his English and Drama degree or, with more fury, the constant and continuous oppression of Palestinians by a country which Haddad, throughout the performance, refuses to name.
In this sense, PalesTEENian is a powerful piece. Haddad’s intimate and first-hand perspective of what it is like to be Palestinian, both away from home and also his experiences there themselves, are told with great clarity and urgency, with Haddad refusing to shy away from the brutality of the atrocities occurring there.
Yet, the coverage of these atrocities, included in Haddad’s script, does jar a little with the bouncy, frequent return to punchlines and gags. The piece, as a result, gets a little out of control with Haddad’s urgent and furious rants suddenly converting into humour and jokes. It is a noble attempt here to pair the violence and horror with the triviality of stand-up comic observations, but if this was a little more restrained early on, it might have had an even sharper impact in what becomes an engrossing final 15 minutes where Haddad’s identity crisis explodes.
Nevertheless, Haddad’s satirical take on Palestinian culture, its quirks and family dynamics, does land with great success, especially to those with first-hand knowledge themselves. The inclusion of Arabic phrases and idioms, although some go untranslated, is effective in heightening the authenticity of the work, and, much like Haddad craves, enables people like him, with Palestinian heritage, to feel seen.
While the piece does meander a little, getting a bit bogged down in some of the finer details of Haddad’s emerging career which take a little too long to get through, PalesTEENian has frenetic, frantic and furious comedic moments which help Haddad put his Palestinian roots, and his reputation as a stand-up comic, onto the map.
