Standing Up for Political Comedy

Available for over a year

Can comedy and satire change the world - or change minds? We find out what drives Nigeria’s Adeola Fayehun and the Brazilian comic Gregório Duviver to take on the politics of their home countries through satire. Lebanese-Iraqi writer Karl Sharro is a political commentator, an architect and a self-confessed “extremely bad cartoonist”, but he's perhaps best known as the satirist Karl ReMarks. He joins us to discuss how he addresses the politics and media portrayal of the Middle East through humour. The Cultural Frontline’s Mpho Lakaje takes us on a trip to the stand-up comedy club scene of Johannesburg, South Africa. He meets a new generation of comics challenging society and seeking stardom on stage: Tshekedi Monyemore and Vuyo Jiya, plus veteran comic David Kau. Finally, can comedy change your world? The French Moroccan stand-up comedian Gad Elmaleh reveals how the work of the Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin showed him how to keep his comedy simple, while helping him keep his family close. Presented by Shaimaa Khalil Produced by Kirsty McQuire, Mugabi Turya, Shoku Amirani, Sally Garwood and Mpho Lakaje Image: Comedian Gad Elmaleh performing on stage in Tunisia (Credit: Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images)