Dubai-aiiiiii

So then…

When I got back from Thailand at the beginning of March I felt like I’d done enough travelling to last a while. I put my summer clothes away along with the suitcase I use for my major travels, thinking I might not see them again till 2013.

About a month later, I got an email from lovely Simon at the Comedy Store asking me if I fancied doing a run of gigs in the Middle East. To say that this came out of the blue is an understatement!

I replied with a ‘yes please’ and now here I am on day six into the 10 day gagfest, and I am having a bloody ball! I’ve had four of the best gigs I’ve ever had, in some of the most unusual circumstances, and I’ve gotten a reminder of how wonderful it feels to have the sun on your skin instead of cold rain.

Comedians are a relatively simple bunch of people within the showbiz family. We don’t need endless soundchecks or baskets of puppies and all white dressing rooms in order to give our all. We need a stage, a mike, some lights and an audience, that’s about it. If you add to that some amazing hotels and a couple of really friendly and organised promoters we’re the happiest bunnies in the universe. 

The people behind the Laughter Factory shows here in UAE have got it all spot on, and therefore all three of us are giving 100% when it comes to the shows. Another thing that makes for a good tour is the combination of comedians. The guys I’m out here with are fab, no hassles, no major egos, just grown-ups who are professional and chilled.

For the first of the three Dubai shows we experimented with me opening. The gig was fine but afterwards we all agreed that perhaps the audience needed to be a bit more ‘relaxed’ if they were going to be open to answering some of my questions. As a result we’ve gone for the tradition ‘girl-sandwich’ line-up since and I’ve had better and better gigs with each night that passes. 

On Saturday night we were in Bahrain doing the first of a new comedy night there and the audience mix was way more diverse than we’d had in Dubai where it’s been mostly ex-pats. To say I was nervous about doing my stuff to a more ‘traditional’ audience is an understatement! 

Wearing my H&M Does Marni Parka
for the gig in Bahrain

Rainer Hersch opened the show in his usual wonderfully witty way, and I sat at the back trying to gage the audience’s reactions to anything remotely racy. They seemed fine and they sure laughed a lot, but my ‘thing’ is way more blatant than his!

Apart from wanting to do well for my own sake, there was a pressure I put on myself that this was the opening night and if the audience took offense the gig might not have a second night! 

I am thrilled to report that all of my worrying was in vain. I had so much fun with the audience! One of my favourite parts was explaining what was wrong with the design of the Rabbit to two middle-aged (my age!) women in headscarves who, minutes earlier, didn’t even know what a rabbit was! After the show they thanked me for making them laugh so much!

Apart from the relief and joy I felt at doing a good job, I also got a buzz from my performance because it showed me just how far I’ve come on my comedy journey. A few years ago, I would’ve died on my arse with an audience like that. Not because of anything they did, or because my material was offensive. I would have died because I’d have been so freaked out that the charm would’ve gone and I’d have come across as just some old bird talking dirty. Nerves can be a fucker sometimes.

Sean Collins is closing the shows and of course he stormed it too - he really is bullet proof and so relaxed onstage he makes Sean Lock look like Lee Evans! Afterwards I lost count of the amount of people who thanked us for coming to town and giving them a great night. What a tremendous feeling that is!