Palestinian Alaa Shehada turns journey home into comedy at Edinburgh Festival Fringe
DUBAI: The crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan is barely 180 meters long, but it can take 12 hours, three checkpoints and several failed attempts. For Palestinian comedian and theater maker Alaa Shehada, it has provided the makings of a show.
Shehada performed “The Bridge” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this month, one of three productions staged by the Palestine Comedy Club, the company he founded to put Palestinian stand-up on stage. He performs in two of the shows; the third is performed by a friend.
“It’s driving everyone mad,” he said of the journey that inspired the piece. “I was there just two weeks ago, and it’s unbelievable. It’s a very simple right to have, which is traveling from your house to Jordan. Why does it take all of that?”
He described families leaving home at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. to reach a bridge that sometimes closes before their turn, sending them back to try again the next day. “You have children, old people, families crossing, and it’s a suffering,” he said.
