The Jordanian capital is gearing up for the first ‘Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival’ which features a line-up of the best of Jordanian, Arab, and Foreign talents and headliner performers.

A non-profit program developed by the Greater Amman Municipality, the four-day themed festival begins on Decemeber 2 at Al Hussein Cultural Center.

Set to position Amman as a platform for the stand-up form of comedy in the Middle East, the festival is developed in close collaboration with the critically-acclaimed New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, piloting an activity with aims to grow in stature year after year, said the organisers.

The festival will contribute to position the City of Amman as a pioneering city that embraces, creates, and hosts a stand-up comedy festival attracting headlining performers from the Middle East, United States, and Europe.

“This, in turn, will give Amman’s cultural movement an edge and will firmly generate positive national and international exposure,” they said. 

With over 15 acclaimed performers, including Arab American, Executive Producer, and Stand-Up Comedian Dean Obeidallah, the festival is expected to attract comedy fans from across the region.

“The Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival will enhance Amman's cultural movement, and will create a wider appreciation for comedy in Jordan and the region. We, at the Greater Amman Municipality, anticipate that this festival will increase tourist traffic to the City during the month of December, while also placing Jordan and its talent pool on the international map of comedy,” said Omar Maani, mayor of Amman city.

“We are always keen on urging our community members to express themselves and interact through the many forms of performing arts, and stand-up comedy is the rawest and most interactive form of comedy,” he noted.

Obeidallah hoped the festival would encourage young talents to become active in the Jordanian performing arts arena.

”We can only look forward to positive outcomes from this festival, placing our positive experience from the New York Arab American Comedy Festival at the disposal of Jordanian talents and the City of Amman,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service