Top acts to share spotlight at Doha Comedy Festival

The first-ever winter edition of Doha Comedy Festival (DCF), slated for February 2-4 at the Qatar National Convention Centre theatre, will bring together a special lineup of 15 stand-up comedians from nine countries, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has announced.
According to each comedian’s repertoire and style, the three nights have been themed ‘Arab’ (February 2), Khaleeji (February 3), and International (February 4).
In a statement, QTA said the impressive lineup of stars includes The Daily Show host Trevor Noah and winner of America’s Got Talent Paul Zerdin, who will both be coming to Qatar for the first time and performing at the DCF’s International Night.
Tickets for each night range from QR120 to QR995 and are on sale at Virgin Megastores throughout the country and online through the store’s website, in addition to Shop Qatar booths at malls participating in the festival.  
DCF is presented by QTA, and organised and produced by The Social Studios. Its previous edition was held during the Qatar Summer Festival and then drew more than 4,000 fans.
“Shop Qatar features a multitude of activities making it much more than a shopping festival. Based on the success we have seen for DCF in the past few years, the inclusion of this comedy event in the festival’s entertainment line-up is expected to draw large crowds of fans from across the region,” QTA public relations and communication director Saif al-Kuwari said.
“We have been proud to support DCF since its inception, especially as comedy is a positive means for shedding light on social issues and plays an important role in building bridges between cultures,” he added.
Hamzeh Zahr, managing director of The Social Studios said playing host to one of the region’s largest comedy shows demonstrates Qatar’s growing prominence on the global cultural map.
“Comedy in this region was and is a part of our collective cultural heritage and the spread of stand-up comedy is testament to the flourishing of Arab artistic talents,” he noted.
Zahr added that comedy’s popularity presents a golden opportunity for reaching out to younger generations and creating a positive impact that encourages them to pursue a future that values innovation for success.
Qatari comedian Hamad al-Amari said the last edition of DCF featured a number of top comedians from the region and the large audience turn-out underscored the importance of stand-up comedy in the region’s cultural scene.
“The winter edition promises to build on that and offer our audiences a new experience with fresh material that touches on new topics,” he pointed out.
The Arabic Night will bring together some of the region’s brightest star: Nemr (Lebanon), Rajae Qawas (Jordan), Nikolas Khoury (Jordan), Mohanad al-Hattab (Syria), Wonho Chung (Korea) and Mohamed Salem (Egypt).
The Khaleeji Night will feature the best of the Gulf: Bader Saleh, Ibraheem al-Khairallah, Moayad al-Nefaie (KSA), Ahmad al-Shammari, Abdallah al-Saidan, and Bashar al-Jazzaf (Kuwait).
The International Night will see for the first time in Qatar Paul Zerdin (the British comedian, ventriloquist, and winner of Season 10 of America’s Got Talent) and South African comedian Trevor Noah with an opening act by Hamad al-Amari (also known as ‘the Qatari Guy’).