The Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club is a Los Angeles and Beirut based brand which brings U.S. comedians to cities where they do not have comedy clubs yet. It was launched by co-founders Ron Senkowski and Samira Kawas in April 2018. [1]
The first stand-up comedy event was held in Beirut at the St. Georges Yacht Club. [1] After a year of shows in Beirut, the company expanded to Saudi Arabia by bringing six U.S.-based comedians to perform during the first ever Jeddah Season in June 2019. [2] [3] After this, the company has produced Maz Jobrani's Middle Eastern Peaceful Warrior tour and events in Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Doha, Riyadh, and Jeddah. [4] At the 2019 inaugural edition of Riyadh Season, the team brought Eddie Griffin to perform for two nights in the Boulevard zone. [5]
Comedians | Date | Year | City | Country | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harland Williams, Jade Catta-Preta, Jamie Kennedy, Skyler Stone | April 23–26 | 2018 | Beirut | Lebanon | [6] |
Amir K, Byron Bowers, Jessimae Peluso, Skyler Stone | July 20–22 | 2018 | Beirut | Lebanon | [7] |
Bret Ernst, Chinedu Unaka, Crystal Marie Denha, Justin Martindale | November 30 – December 1 | 2018 | Beirut | Lebanon | [8] |
Kate Quiqley, Rene Vaca, Tehran | June 6–7 | 2019 | Beirut | Lebanon | [7] |
Dean Edwards, Godfrey, Harland Williams, Pauly Shore, Pete Lee, Vincent O'Shana | 2019 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | [3] | |
Eddie Griffin | 2019 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | [5] | |
Ahmed Ahmed, Jason Collings, Reem Edan | 2019 | Manama | Bahrain | [9] | |
Maz Jobrani "Peaceful Warrior" Tour | 2019 | Kuwait Katar Jordan UAE Bahrain Oman | [4] | ||
Max Amini | January 19 | 2020 | Manama | Bahrain | [10] |
Transport in Saudi Arabia is facilitated through a relatively young system of roads, railways and seaways. Most of the network started construction after the discovery of oil in the Eastern Province in 1952, with the notable exception of Highway 40, which was built to connect the capital Riyadh to the economically productive Eastern Province, and later to the Islamic holy city of Mecca and the port city of Jeddah. With the economic growth in the 70s, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has initiated many infrastructure development projects across the country, and the extensive development of the transportation network has followed suit in support of various economic developments.
The music of Saudi Arabia includes both Western and traditional music. The most distinguished musician in recent Saudi history is Tariq Abdulhakeem, who composed hundreds of famous Saudi songs for himself as well as for other singers; Saraj Omar has become a very prominent composer after writing the music for the Saudi national anthem; Mohammed Abdu, the most famous singer in the Arab World; Talal Maddah who died in August 2000 while singing in the summer festival on the stage of Al-Muftaha Theatre in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The 1st Arab Pioneers Festival, which was held in Cairo under the patronage of the Arab League, honored four of the lead composers in Saudi Arabia: Tariq Abdulhakeem, Ghazi Ali, Mohamed Alsenan, and Mohammed Shafiq. Of the same generation are the oud virtuoso Abadi al Johar, Rabeh Saqer and Abdul-Majeed Abdullah.
The Eastern Province, also known as the Eastern Region, and officially the Emirate of the Eastern Province, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh Province and the Mecca Province. In 2017, the population was 4,900,325. Of these, 3,140,362 were Saudi citizens and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals The province accounts for 15.05% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia and is named for its geographical location relative to the rest of the kingdom.
Albaik is a Saudi fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Jeddah, Hejaz that primarily sells broasted and fried chicken with a variety of sauces. It is Saudi Arabia's largest restaurant chain. Albaik currently has trade name in 80 countries.
Maziyar Jobrani is an American comedian and actor who was part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including Better Off Ted, on radio, and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in The Interpreter, Friday After Next, Dragonfly, and Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero. He appeared as a regular character on the 2017 CBS sitcom Superior Donuts.
The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour is a comedy tour featuring four Middle Eastern comedians and special guest comedians. The tour's name is derived from a speech by US President George W. Bush which designated Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as the "axis of evil". The tour started on 11 November 2005. The group jokes about their culture along with being Middle-Eastern in America. All of the comedians state that their lives changed considerably with 9/11, with one member, Egyptian-American Ahmed Ahmed, whose name matches the alias used by an Osama bin Laden henchman, noting that he is frequently stopped by airport immigration officials on suspicion of terrorism – including a 12-hour stint in a jail in Las Vegas. On 10 March 2007 they were given their own Comedy Central Special. The group broke up in 2011.
Saudi Arabia is the second biggest tourist destination in the Middle East with over 16 million visiting in 2017. Although most tourism in Saudi Arabia still largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. As the tourism sector has been largely boosted lately, the sector is expected to be the white oil for Saudi Arabia. This is proved as tourism sector is expected to generate $25 billion in 2019. Potential tourist areas include the Hijaz and Sarawat Mountains, Red Sea diving and a number of ancient ruins.
Fahad al-Butairi is a stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. Albutairi became the first Saudi Arabian comedian to perform on stage professionally in Saudi Arabia and in the whole of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. He is also one of the most notable YouTube personalities from the country. In 2018, he was forcibly returned from Jordan to Saudi Arabia, due to his wife Loujain al-Hathloul's activities as a women's rights activist.
Mehran Khaghani is a British-American standup comedian, comedic director, and comedy event producer based in the Boston Metro area, of Iranian descent. In 2010, a reader survey in the Boston Phoenix named him Boston's best comedian of the year.
Omar Ramzi is the first white Sudanese stand-up comedian and one of the first stand-up comedians to perform on stage professionally in Saudi Arabia and has opened for a number of accomplished stand-up comedians from the US and the UK.
Just Like Us is a 2010 documentary about a comedy tour of international comedians throughout the middle east. Directed by Egyptian-American actor/comedian, Ahmed Ahmed, the film premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.
The 22nd Arabian Gulf Cup was the 22nd edition of the biennial football competition, and took place between 13 and 26 November 2014 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Imran Al Aradi is a Pakistani-Bahraini stand up comedian and disc jockey in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He is primarily famous for being a radio personality on Radio Bahrain. His comedic style and hosting skills has led to him being dubbed as "the funniest man in Bahrain".
The 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup, officially named the 2018–19 Zayed Champions Cup to mark 100 years since the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was the 28th season of the Arab World's inter-club football tournament organised by UAFA, and the first season since it was renamed from the Arab Club Championship to the Arab Club Champions Cup.
The 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup knockout stage began on 20 August 2019 and ended on 21 August 2021 with the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, to decide the champions of the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup. A total of 32 teams competed in the knockout stage.
Ron Senkowski is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles. He is the chief executive officer and president of Symply Entertainment, a production company he founded with Lebanese producer and actress Samira Kawas. Together they also founded The Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club in 2018.
Samira Kawas is a producer and actress based in Beirut. She is the vice president of Symply Entertainment, a production company co-founded by her and American writer, director and producer Ron Senkowski. In 2018 they founded The Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club.
Anthony Salame is an Australian comedian and former radio host, who has also had appearances in multiple Australian television series.
The Saudi Women's Football League is the top flight of women's association football in Saudi Arabia. The competition is run by the Saudi Sports for All Federation of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. The first championship started in 2020.
Yara International School (YIS), is a K–12 gender-isolated English-medium international school in ad-Dirah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located next to Qasr al-Hukm Metro Station in the former campus of the Female Student Study Center of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.