In exile from Egypt, Bassem Youssef is still making people laugh

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When he began wisecracking in 2011, he hoped his jokes would serve as a remedy to fear in febrile times. Now his aim is to illuminate the experience of the Arab diaspora in the West

The largely Egyptian audience roared with laughter. For many of the punters at his show, Mr Youssef is an icon. He was one of the first people in the Arab world to host a political-satire show on television. A decade ago, during his Friday-night slot, generations of Egyptian families would huddle round screens to watch him; the streets of Cairo fell silent. Here, in a prestigious auditorium in London, things were different.

During the presidency of Muhammad Morsi, a democratically elected Islamist, Mr Youssef enjoyed relative freedom. He was detained only once—for “disrupting the fabric of society”, among other supposed offences. Mr Youssef’s description of this event makes it seem fairly benign. Wielding transcripts of his show, he remembers, officers questioned him about each gag in turn, laughing as they did so.a laughing matter, particularly when the jokes were on him.

Besides the language of its delivery, “Adam” differs from Mr Youssef’s revolution-era comedy in two main ways. The first is its purpose. . “In America we are a newer group of immigrants, compared to Asians or Latinos,” he explains. “It’s important that we tell our stories, instead of just talking to each other.”

 

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