How comedy can build empathy | Alaa Shehada & Nish Kumar | TEDxLondon

“The Palestine Comedy Club is a platform for every Palestinian comedian, artist and actor to share their perspectives”, explains co-founder Alaa Shehada. In conversation with stand up comedian, Nish Kumar they explore how comedy is a way to challenge stereotypes, survive conflicts and hardship and connect with others. Alaa is a Palestinian actor, comedian and a graduate of The Freedom Theatre acting school in Jenin camp, a theatre company nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024. He is also the co-founder of The Palestine Comedy Club - a platform for Palestinian comedians to share their stories, humour and Palestinian culture. Alaa’s new comedy show, The Horse of Jenin, is a profound and imaginative performance about humour, history and resilience. Nish Kumar has achieved huge success on the stand-up circuit with five rave reviewed solo stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, two of which have been nominated for the prestigious Comedy Award for Best Show in 2015 and 2016. Nish’s last show, Your Power, Your Control, is available on Sky and he is touring his latest show Nish: Don’t Kill My Vibe. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx