00:00:01.58 alexei sayle Hi, everyone. Welcome to episode 71 of the Alexi Cell podcast and switching, slight switcher format today. I'm going for a kind of zoo. I've got my posse together today. I'm going for like a zoo thing. This is going to be like Steve Wright in the afternoon from and about 19, about 2009. And nine and ah yeah, got my gang. I got Talan and I got Sami.

00:00:31.08 alexei sayle and make some noise guys make go go whoop um all enthusiasts clapping as well yeah we're gonna we're gonna be doing the recipe later and crazy things that tortoises do we've got and then I'll be doing some of my comic characters at the reason that

00:00:31.36 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal that's right That's right.

00:00:34.24 Sami Woo.

00:00:38.90 Sami it Yeah.

00:00:50.74 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And I'm of course bringing my but biggest arse competition back after three years away. Send in those arse picks, gang. We're going to measure them. Biggest ass award.

00:01:01.87 alexei sayle Yeah, biggest ask.

00:01:02.94 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Winner gets a signed poster of me.

00:01:05.20 alexei sayle yeah um So, um no they were just we're trying to keep it more conversational than...

00:01:14.63 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal a

00:01:14.90 alexei sayle So Sammy, well, tell us about yourself.

00:01:15.18 Sami Is that not conversational? like Um, I'm, I know, right.

00:01:20.02 alexei sayle Welcome to the early morning, afternoon, evening crew on KCZMJJJKF.

00:01:26.94 Sami Um, I'm, uh, what does that stand for?

00:01:30.11 alexei sayle It stands for nothing at all.

00:01:32.47 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Uh...

00:01:33.77 Sami um i'm I'm Sammy, I'm a comedian and an actor and I write as well. i i've been yeah I've been doing comedy for about eight or nine years now professionally and I ah had a really good ah sort of debut hour in 2022 and I made a Channel 4 digital series that same year as well. And yeah, I've been i've been working, I was working on my second hour in 2023 and then ah everything started happening in Palestine and so i I sort of initially had to adjust to that with my comedy and then eventually I took a little break and now I'm um putting on an hour show now I've sort of figured that out.

00:02:06.63 alexei sayle Dope. Yes.

00:02:19.81 alexei sayle Yes, those those people in those people in Gaza, they should think of the comedian sometimes, and yeah, we've suffered really, kind to adapt. It's been tremendously difficult for me, right in my new series of sandwich bar just because these people are being genocided.

00:02:36.72 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal shawarma ball shawarma ball

00:02:38.20 alexei sayle hey Now it's proper old fashioned sandwich bar. So what can you I mean, just what what what's what are your what's your ethnicity, as it were, is that the wrong?

00:02:48.70 Sami Yeah, so my dad's Palestinian. my My father was born in in in a town called Limuela, which is inside the 1948 border. It was it was um ethnically cleansed in 1948. He was born in 1941. So when he was a little boy, his town was ethnically cleansed and they were moved across the armistice line.

00:03:12.09 Sami ah eventually and my extended family are in in Balata refugee camp in Nablus and also some outside of Balata refugee camp in Nablus which is in the West Bank um and my mother so my my grandparents were Irish immigrants to Liverpool my mother was born in Liverpool and she she sends her regards she's very excited that I'm on this podcast yeah

00:03:21.46 alexei sayle It's in the West Bank. Mm hmm.

00:03:31.92 alexei sayle All right. Yeah, yeah. We all know each other, of course.

00:03:38.81 Sami um

00:03:39.17 alexei sayle Does she know he Jimmy? That was a scousie mixed up face. You must know him from that side.

00:03:44.44 Sami do you Do you want me to give a ring? Okay. Um, I can ask her. Uh, yeah.

00:03:50.52 alexei sayle Now, we all do know each other. She'll know. Yeah.

00:03:53.50 Sami Um, and yeah.

00:03:54.12 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal I always forget you're half Irish as well, that's the... ah

00:03:57.71 Sami Yeah.

00:03:58.04 alexei sayle ands gout

00:03:58.90 Sami Yeah, yeah. Scouse, Irish, you know, it's all, it's, it's a, that's a, that's a funny, that's an interesting part of my identity because we, we wouldn't really call ourselves English, you know, because it's, uh, it's part, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a bit complicated in that way.

00:04:14.72 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:04:14.74 Sami I'm, I'm sure you might understand that, uh, Alexi.

00:04:17.97 alexei sayle Sure.

00:04:17.97 Sami Um, but, uh, yeah, so I suppose ethnically we call ourselves Irish and in that, in that sense.

00:04:17.98 alexei sayle Sure.

00:04:25.79 Sami um And I was i was born in Kuwait.

00:04:26.41 alexei sayle follow town mix.

00:04:30.09 Sami We were we would displaced, I guess you could say, because we ah we we but had a life there. you know My parents were there for a good 25 years.

00:04:38.38 alexei sayle A lot of the, a lot of the people who did the sort of the well, by the administrative work and I guess physical work we were in Kuwait were Palestinians.

00:04:47.17 Sami it Exactly.

00:04:47.18 alexei sayle That's right.

00:04:47.85 Sami It was the center of the Palestinian diaspora um in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, I would say, running right up until the invasion by Saddam Hussein.

00:04:50.63 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah.

00:04:57.13 alexei sayle Mmm.

00:04:59.20 Sami And we were we were there. my my parents had me when they were a little older so they were there for a good 25 years odd and then I was born and and then when I was a little boy we we had to you know leave everything behind we ended up back in London then I moved around a lot and then ended up sort of finishing off my schooling in Dubai and came to the UK yeah

00:05:23.52 alexei sayle and decides to be a comedian. So, ah well, just to jump ahead a bit, I don't, I mean, I, my, I'm not particularly connected, I think, with the, you know, with the comedy scene, really, but my sense is that a lot of comedians, certainly the bigger names, I've been, by and large, silent over this genocide.

00:05:43.64 alexei sayle How is it? How is it on the, on the circuit? I don't, but whatever, ever whichever part of the ecosystem you inhabit.

00:05:49.06 Sami Yeah, it's been, it's it's been, it's been very strange. I mean, I, it's it's been very, it's been a very odd, ah however, God knows how many months it's been now. Your last encounter was 14 or 15.

00:06:00.20 alexei sayle 15, 16.

00:06:01.45 Sami Yeah. um It's been, it was an odd experience. When it started, there was this sort of like, you know, somebody slammed the brakes on and you're you' moving forward in a car and you're all moving forward.

00:06:13.60 Sami and then And then it just felt like, whoa, you know, guys, we need to talk about this.

00:06:18.46 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:06:19.16 Sami You know, from, from my end, it was like, what's happening? And and then the vast, vast majority of comedians just carried on as normal. Now I'm just, I'm just saying that as actually I'm, I'm, I'm saying that in a descriptive way.

00:06:31.62 Sami I'm not.

00:06:32.47 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:06:32.64 Sami I'm really genuinely not not judging them to be honest like I think it's that's a very complicated conversation how a comedian specifically especially a stand-up on the circuit should should respond to something like this and that's a complicated conversation but

00:06:41.73 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:06:47.99 Sami whatever the whatever the rightness or wrongness of it, it it is you know it is what happened. you know The vast majority of comedians carried on doing their stuff. you know And so we'd be in the middle of this you know genocide a few months in, and you have comedians talking about the routine stand-up comedy material, ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends and ordering pizza and things like that.

00:07:10.60 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:07:10.83 Sami And and as ah both ah an act and an audience member, it felt that felt quite jarring. um

00:07:16.07 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:07:17.07 Sami that felt very very jarring and and no no audiences didn't mainstream i have to say my experience of mainstream audiences because i was one of the in my experience few comedians who was who had shifted their entire material in order to talk about palestine and most mainstream audiences

00:07:18.94 alexei sayle Did you get a sense that audiences also were aware of that dislocation or? right

00:07:36.13 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:07:42.38 Sami either didn't one would didn't want to hear it or didn't want to hear it in the way that I was presenting it.

00:07:48.38 alexei sayle Really?

00:07:50.04 Sami And that in a way, that was more distressing for me than sort of the comedy comedians not talking about it.

00:07:56.62 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:07:57.51 Sami The comedians not talking about it, I was like, you know what, you know you do you, that's fine. But it was the audiences who would react negatively towards certain things, which would which would be like, Really? you think you have You think Benjamin Netanyahu is not a war criminal?

00:08:07.71 alexei sayle Really? Yeah.

00:08:10.82 Sami like you You have a problem with me making a joke about that.

00:08:12.50 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:08:14.00 Sami um it was like it It was really surprising, the number of people in in mainstream audiences.

00:08:14.15 alexei sayle Wow.

00:08:15.71 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Wow.

00:08:19.30 Sami When I say mainstream audiences, I mean your regular punters, they want to go out for a night of comedy, they they see something advertised and they turn up.

00:08:24.97 alexei sayle Yeah, where where is to give me an example of where this would be.

00:08:25.64 Sami um

00:08:29.25 Sami Oh, really? And you were like, honestly, any any sorts of central London club, you know, any any sort of any any sort of central London club that has a lineup of your sort of a typical stand up lineup, really, I'd say.

00:08:39.72 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:08:40.71 Sami um And it was a few different places. And again, like no fault of the club at all. It was it was just a phenomenon. that sort of it was the the the general public the shared ideology of the general public um sort of abutting against the the politics of of of you know you know what what is decent i think um and yeah it was a very strange experience uh having to sort of go through that it was very and and at the same time i mean you you were joking when you said that you know the residents should think of the poor comedians in the uk but

00:08:49.82 alexei sayle Right.

00:08:55.14 alexei sayle Yeah. Alright.

00:09:12.29 Sami that that was like At the same time, it's like you you were hitting on a truth there where it's like, I can't really complain. you know I was like, this is very difficult to be doing this, but there's a genocide going on.

00:09:23.60 Sami like i I'm not going to speak publicly about you know the ah the challenge of making comedy in this time because that's irrelevant at this moment.

00:09:23.80 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:09:29.87 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:09:29.88 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah, exactly.

00:09:31.53 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:09:32.06 Sami and and And it was, and to some extent, it's not, I wouldn't say it's irrelevant, nothing's necessarily irrelevant, but there is a pecking order of issues, I think.

00:09:32.12 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:09:41.37 Sami And ah this issue goes further is further down the list than certain other ones, I think, when it comes to what's actually happening in these various places.

00:09:45.22 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hmm.

00:09:49.62 alexei sayle Oh, that, have you noticed any of, I haven't, have you noticed any of the other, you know, mainstream comics, you know, the famous ones taking a stand. I know Nish Kumar, for instance, was at that, yeah.

00:10:01.30 Sami Nish has been very good. I mean, I gigged with him. I did a stand-up for Palestine, not stand-up for Palestine, it was stand-up for MAP, um for Medicaid for Palestinians at the Comedy Store.

00:10:08.15 alexei sayle yeah

00:10:09.41 Sami He was he was on that lineup. um He was very good. Rob Delaney, wow, like, he's he's really come through, like, incredible, incredible guy.

00:10:16.18 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:10:18.36 alexei sayle Really?

00:10:19.17 Sami Wow, yeah, really, really, like, so heartwarming to see what, you know, and to chat to him backstage and, like, get an idea of, you know, it's like, wow, you're, you know.

00:10:25.57 alexei sayle Yeah, yeah.

00:10:28.71 Sami um And ah so yeah, they were there they're speaking up that, you know, they're doing that bit, I suppose. um Otherwise, it's, it's been, I cut off the top of my head.

00:10:40.89 Sami You know, I would need to fact check this but I off the top of my head I can't.

00:10:42.98 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:10:44.75 Sami really think of anyone really I mean Frankie Boyle has always been pro-palestine um I think he's sort of i and I know that he's on side you know and I don't I don't know for some reason I don't really big rudge him for not like putting it front and center but I'm sure he yeah he does he does he does do that

00:10:50.76 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:10:56.17 alexei sayle Yeah. Hmm.

00:11:02.12 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal He does it on his social media, but I've not seen it. But it's weird that he made he took that turn against Corbin when he had that TV show. He had his hair.

00:11:10.35 alexei sayle Yeah. I mean, I think he says in retrospect, he was sort of intimidated into it.

00:11:15.39 Sami Yeah, I'm not surprised.

00:11:16.39 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:11:16.97 Sami Yeah.

00:11:17.10 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal He just had a go at the Corbin bashing. he gra He grabbed the bat for a few swings and it was a bit sad to see that.

00:11:19.36 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:11:21.88 alexei sayle He did. Yes. its That was disappointing.

00:11:24.09 Sami Yeah.

00:11:24.12 alexei sayle Yes, indeed.

00:11:24.31 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And obviously Sammy is why we got Paul Curry on the show. He's who got me in touch with Paul Curry

00:11:27.64 alexei sayle Alright.

00:11:30.04 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um And you and Paul talked a lot over that. Did you have any experience from venues in that kind of ilk where venues kind of betrayed you or anything?

00:11:37.85 Sami betrayed me no no there were I've been I mean the Paul Curry incidents happened so early on in in the genocide that it was it was a bit of a how do I say it was like we I watched and I learned how to keep myself safe I was like okay this is this is the playing field we're on this is what these this is what

00:11:59.29 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:12:01.16 Sami these people are doing. So I've been very careful ever since that incident um and the um Soho Theatre releasing a statement that resulted in Paul Curry losing a lot of work um and in in my opinion ah implying that he he is

00:12:14.30 alexei sayle Yeah, despicable behavior.

00:12:20.30 Sami um

00:12:20.89 alexei sayle come

00:12:22.13 Sami implying that he holds anti-Semitic views when I don't believe he does.

00:12:23.81 alexei sayle Yeah, no.

00:12:25.33 Sami um Ever since that incident, sorry, um i've been I've been taking extra security steps, so they um they include filming every single set that I do every time and getting evidence on camera.

00:12:39.51 Sami um

00:12:39.52 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Oh, that's why you do that.

00:12:41.19 alexei sayle who wow

00:12:41.86 Sami Yeah, yeah, I film every single set that I do. i When I engage with the audience, there have been moments where, you know, I've engaged with an audience member or audience members who are very, very clearly not onside. And it's about, you know, it's about staying calm, asking questions, you know, and being comfortable not being funny for a few moments.

00:13:05.32 Sami um um And so it was, you know, it's like, yeah, I mean, that whole thing really sort of was a bit of an education in how to then navigate that world of performing comedy about Palestine within the UK.

00:13:18.35 alexei sayle Right. Yeah.

00:13:21.85 Sami And I'm very happy if any if any comedians want tips or want to talk through stuff of how to get themselves safe, you know, I'm always happy to talk to them about it as well.

00:13:25.79 alexei sayle Yeah, that sounds like it might be worth it, yeah.

00:13:30.54 Sami Yeah, because it's ah it's a new world now and it's ah it's it can be scary, but I think if we're equipped we're well equipped, we can we can really we can do something.

00:13:40.60 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah. What happened? I mean, Reg D Hunter just, he just kind of kept his head down, didn't he? A lot of what was...

00:13:48.78 Sami Yeah, I think, I mean, I didn't really follow that. All I know is he had some apparent, you know, and, you know, they appeared from the story to be disruptors in the audience.

00:13:56.74 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:13:57.42 Sami And he, he, so what's interesting is, I've noticed since the start of all this sort of since the genocide started and the sort of turning up the propaganda to 11 through every channel available that the the powers that be have.

00:14:11.90 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:14:16.24 Sami um I've noticed a difference in how people who are new to Palestine or relatively new to Palestine or don't necessarily have lived experience or intergenerational experience of Palestine, how those people engage with it and how people who are a bit more seasoned with it engage with it.

00:14:32.89 Sami um And it's like I think for a lot of Palestinians, we know, especially Palestinians in the West, we know what we We know how to play the game a little bit, you know what I mean?

00:14:48.77 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:14:49.84 Sami We know how to navigate the world of language and meaning such that we can protect ourselves if we need to.

00:14:57.31 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah absolutely.

00:14:57.90 Sami Whereas I think for a lot of people who are coming to it afresh, I think they're not they're not familiar with the um

00:15:02.07 alexei sayle Right.

00:15:06.47 Sami the extent to which um ah collective ideology and language and its meaning has been manipulated by um i mean historical forces.

00:15:13.90 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:15:17.05 Sami you know it's It's not limited to to Zionism or Zionists.

00:15:20.49 alexei sayle No.

00:15:21.86 Sami It is much bigger than that, in my opinion.

00:15:23.44 alexei sayle Yeah, but I think you make an interesting point there that the the that while it is wildly unfair and the the yeah the censorship or the attempted censorship of pro-Palestinian voices and the actual censorship of pro-Palestinian voices and both in the news and in the entertainment business. There's no point in bitching about it really. is that There's no point in just, so I mean, you can say that is unfair and that's reasonable, but also you have to, as you say, find, find a way around it really.

00:15:57.57 Sami Yeah. yeah it's sort of this you know it's this dance where it's like well you know this is the game these the rules are sort of set in the west right and and we know what they are and depending on which space you occupy and where which circles you move in there are ways you there are ways you can express yourself that will

00:16:06.88 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:16:20.83 Sami potentially be more effective and there are ways that in other spaces you can expect express yourself that may be ah both effective and and more true. Does that kind of kind of make sense?

00:16:32.08 alexei sayle Right then, expand on that.

00:16:32.48 Sami um Like, ah I don't know, like, um, I suppose if I'm having a conversation with, okay, let that that's a, yeah.

00:16:43.69 Sami So for example, um, if I were to do, if I were to do a set, so the reason I brought up mainstream audiences before was because a lot of the gigs I've done in the last year and a bit have been Palestine solidarity gigs and they are a completely different crowd.

00:16:45.37 alexei sayle You do crowd work, so you... Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

00:16:59.24 Sami And you know it's it's not so much that I adjust my language, but there are certain things that you know I will say differently or um or or you know certain jokes I'd make a bit differently because they will the palestinian the the Palestinian Solidarity crowd will will cheer and and and enjoy certain jokes at the expense of genocidal politicians, for example.

00:17:20.36 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:17:20.82 Sami um Whereas ah mainstream audiences feel very uncomfortable with that. And so what I'm illustrating there is a situation where as a Palestinian or a person who is sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, going into the space of the mainstream audience, I have a question to ask myself is,

00:17:38.49 Sami to what extent do I want to keep these people comfortable and to what extent am I going to sort of push the envelope and and sort of knowingly make them, you know, because I know that this proportion of the crowd will feel uncomfortable when I make a joke at the expense of Benjamin Netanyahu.

00:17:53.92 alexei sayle Right.

00:17:54.15 Sami um And and it's it's it's a question, we we it that's sort of the question that we must ask ourselves when we go into those spaces and then make a choice and then follow through with that choice ideally. um And there is no right or wrong answer in that situation. Like if a comedian wants to adjust their set for a mainstreams crowd,

00:18:12.24 Sami in order to in order to if in order to do something they might feel is more effective than so be it you know um i remember watching mo amor for the first time doing stand-up when i first heard of him a few years back and i was So when when I was making my show, my first hour, it was centered around my Palestinian identity, but that was sort of incidental.

00:18:33.98 Sami It was more it was more about multiple having multiple different identities, having grown up in lots of different parts of the world and having more than one heritage.

00:18:39.25 alexei sayle right

00:18:40.75 Sami And I was researching Palestinian comics. I was like, how do Palestinian comedians talk about being Palestinian? This is in 2019.

00:18:46.31 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mm.

00:18:48.36 Sami I was like, how de pilot how do they do it? Because it's so complicated. it's so especially diaspora palestinian experience and identity because in in comedy as you well know you want to get up on stage and you want to sort of it's very useful to be to be boxed in to be typecast to say oh i'm the posh english guy i'm the working class you know so and so i'm and then you can make jokes around it and i found it impossible to write that for being palestinian that did not co-opt

00:19:04.87 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:19:16.90 Sami um and a sort of prejudiced ideology.

00:19:21.66 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah Yeah

00:19:22.31 Sami So like like jokes where it's like, oh, a terrorist, or you know jokes about losing land. It's like, well, being Palestinian is so much more than that. I kind of don't want to lower myself to that.

00:19:32.95 Sami And so I was in i was looking at them. And then Mohammed, I saw Mohammed and I saw his his big set, I think it was on Conan or something. um and And he didn't talk about being Palestinian back then, as far as I remember.

00:19:44.11 Sami That's something I remembered. I was like, you're not centering being Palestinian.

00:19:45.56 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:19:46.91 Sami He talked about being mistaken for being Mexican. He talked about a lot of things. Again, this is I'm not judging him whatsoever. It's just an observation.

00:19:52.67 alexei sayle No.

00:19:53.74 Sami and And so it's like he went into that space knowing it's like these people, their ideas about Palestine are so, the average American sort of audience member at Conan or whichever show he did, their ideas about Palestine are so manipulated by propaganda.

00:20:09.07 Sami that he's like I have to I can't you know I can't I have to sort of work with that you know I have to ease myself in a little bit so that's what I mean to ah to your question of give me an example of what that means yeah yeah I've

00:20:13.96 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:20:19.98 alexei sayle And he has now, I mean with the TV show, he has... It's much more about being

00:20:27.20 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal I guess the TV show is a way of expanding the dialogue and hopefully enhancing the general public's opinions because that kind of humor you're talking about Sammy where

00:20:39.13 Sami Yeah.

00:20:39.67 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal you're relying on the typecast that you are, that that is so reliant on stereotypes, on what the public sphere's general opinion is of a certain class, breed, whatever.

00:20:49.63 Sami Yeah. yeah

00:20:50.46 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And so if you're gonna play to that, you're gonna have to do the terrorist joke, the fucking falafel, fucking whatever. um So by by adding more to the conversation, like he's done with his TV show, hopefully the stereotypes slowly will,

00:21:05.88 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal will change over time. So that's, I'm really glad that that show exists even though I've only just started watching it. I'm glad that these things are being put into the, injected into the conversation like that.

00:21:11.25 Sami Yeah absolutely yeah that's it is it is so important that it's out there and I think I encourage I really encourage new comics especially new uh you know just because we have we share an identity new Arab comics or comics who consider themselves uh Arab or Arab heritage I really strongly I would like to encourage my colleagues to to really expand their their sort of ideas of how we can joke about our identity that do not involve co-opting um the western narrative I think and it's it's very it's a very very hard job because you need as a comic it's your job to get in there and get the laugh quickly right and uh and and I would love to see more yeah yeah ah very much so yeah yeah

00:21:52.46 alexei sayle Yeah, yes, but sometimes forgotten that that's what that we are in the business of laughter, you know, often.

00:22:01.12 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal When I was just starting out, i i I remember once just playing up, I did a like a I don't know, when I was only just starting, I remember doing like, oh, I'm bombing tonight or something like that kind of gag and then feeling horrible, feeling horrible about it.

00:22:14.24 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:22:15.77 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And then realizing I was too young and inexperienced to really tackle the heavy stuff. So i ah from very early on, I had a tack where I would make it very clear to the audience that I'm an Arab.

00:22:30.05 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal But then I would avoid doing anything too heavy politically and trying to be very smart and and intellectual on stage. I would just be a silly, goofy clown. and that my intention was just adding that to the, like just existing and being a silly fucker while the audience are no fully aware that I'm an Arab and yet he's being a goofy duke douchebag and swearing and being silly and, you know, making dick jokes and bum jokes and and ah making them laugh most importantly.

00:22:45.60 Sami Yeah, yeah.

00:23:00.43 Sami Most importantly,

00:23:00.88 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That was like, for me, I'm like, that that is a political statement in itself. It's just existing and being likable and silly. and Arab, I'm like, that's, the minimum I could do is that. I don't have to sit there and preach and lecture them about, until I'm more experienced and wise. So, you know, this is something I'm i'm still struggling with and I'm trying to work on something, but I haven't found it yet. um I don't know. But when I saw you last year, Sami, if I can just, ah let I haven't known you since the beginning of your,

00:23:35.19 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal comedy, career, but when I first saw you performing, I think Alexei was there with me actually. It was at Palestine. It was at the ah Freedom Theatre fundraiser.

00:23:42.97 Sami Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:23:45.76 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um you When I first saw you, you were very focused on doing character stuff, kind of clowny stuff, but you would have all these different guises you'd walk on as.

00:23:53.36 Sami Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:23:54.74 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um As you were saying, focusing on the multicultural aspect of your life and with a political thread through it, but it was very silly, very fun, really hilarious.

00:23:59.39 Sami yeah

00:24:04.47 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And then the next time I saw you after once the current war began, you'd completely changed. And you had only a couple of character bits in there.

00:24:16.09 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And then the rest of it was like you were working out some new tirades, Netanyahu jokes, ranting, and it was furious and angry.

00:24:16.56 Sami Yeah.

00:24:21.02 Sami Yeah.

00:24:24.07 Sami Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

00:24:26.72 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And I think you were really struggling to reach that point. And then you finally just dove in and started bashing it out. What was that like for you, deciding like, I'm gonna go up there and talk and and try and teach these fuckers something?

00:24:39.62 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Or was that what you were even thinking?

00:24:40.85 Sami No, no, it wasn't.

00:24:41.14 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal What was it?

00:24:42.88 Sami i would never i would I would never walk on to a comedy stage with the intention of teaching an audience audience anything. i think that' i think Once that's your intention, your you you that way comedy does not lie.

00:24:57.47 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hmm.

00:24:57.58 alexei sayle yes did

00:24:58.31 Sami Um, so no, no. And, uh, I was, I had for whatever the first six years of my comedy, I was doing silly characters, as you say, I was doing comedy, I would call it character clowning.

00:25:11.89 Sami So it was sort of like in character, very committed. And, you know, I was a flamenco guitarist who couldn't, you know, nobody could understand what he's saying, but he's speaking English and he would sing a lot.

00:25:21.48 alexei sayle Yes,

00:25:22.96 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mm hmm.

00:25:23.90 Sami He would sing a song to make people fall in love and those sorts of things.

00:25:25.42 alexei sayle indeed.

00:25:27.68 Sami And so the the sort of the hard gear change, which you're referring to, was was a challenge because I realized, well, I have to find a way to talk about this on stage. And I had two realizations. I was like, my wheelhouse, which was character clowning, I couldn't see a way for that to be used effectively to talk about this stuff on stage.

00:25:53.01 Sami um And so I made the decision quite quickly to just go fully into stand-up, which is not something that I had ever done before, but I had, having done comedy for several years in a different form, I had i had a lot of skills that were applicable to stand-up.

00:26:10.26 Sami And so i made that I made that decision to go, well, but i think I think the only format that's going to work for this is going to be stand-up.

00:26:10.28 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:26:16.90 Sami Um, and so I just started writing jokes. I just started writing one liners. I just want just every day tried on the way to every gig I went to. I tried to slip in a new one liner. And that was, you know, that, that was, that was an interesting experience because the premise for all of my one liners was.

00:26:35.19 Sami Palestine should be free. but Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, you know, like um I was, incidentally, i was I was listening to a lot of Frankie Boyle at the time as well, because he's, you know, he does that very well.

00:26:46.41 Sami um And the the anger, so there was, I think by the time we did that work in progress together, Talal, I think it was about half, there were some one-liners, there were a lot of one-liners, and there were also longer bits that were not one-liners, a bit of stories, a bit of stuff.

00:26:56.90 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:27:00.93 Sami That was me trying to work out how to then in addition to the one liners start to do longer sets where it was like telling a story about, you know, you know, getting into the wrong Uber and, you know, all fundamentally in an ideal world, I hope still comedy. um But with the the core of the comedy is sort of going, you know you know, just like me getting into the wrong Uber and leaving because I'm in the wrong place, you know, and so illegal settlers are in the wrong place getting into getting into Palestine, you know, like that was the punchline of the of that

00:27:34.25 Sami bit, you know, and, and so, you know, there are ways, as I was telling you before, there are ways to talk about identity and politics that, that you know, that can work, right.

00:27:43.42 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hmm.

00:27:45.83 Sami um And, and so that's

00:27:48.06 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And have you found that balance yet? I do think you've you've found it.

00:27:50.94 Sami I took a break. I've, I've been, uh, I have to say I burnt out, uh, a few months ago. I had to, I had to take a little break.

00:27:59.46 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hmm.

00:28:00.02 Sami Um, because I felt after however many months it was 10 months of this genocide and gigging, I felt like I was, I had taken upon myself.

00:28:11.16 Sami Basically I was like, right. How can I help with my skills with the spaces that I owe that I occupy? How can I help? the cause whatever i mean that's a very that's a very loaded term the cause and we can talk about that but you know i think you know what i mean by that like um how can i help the the cause to to liberate the palestinian people um and you know i made a decision i was like well i'm you know i'm one of the only very few palestinian comedians in the country you know working gigging on the circuit um i'm

00:28:42.22 Sami possibly the most experienced one in the country. And um ah and in addition to Joanna Carolan, who I must mention, she's very, very good. um And she's great, yeah.

00:28:52.47 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal and We should get her on, Alexei. Go on, carry on.

00:28:54.60 alexei sayle Sure.

00:28:55.25 Sami And she, um and sorry, and then yeah.

00:28:56.57 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Take a note.

00:28:56.91 alexei sayle Yeah, make this just completely. Then you let it, this would be reverse occupation. You let me out.

00:29:01.74 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal How do you spell? How do you spell carol? Go on.

00:29:05.88 alexei sayle There's already, it's two it's two to one Arabs.

00:29:06.36 Sami And

00:29:09.06 Sami Yeah, right.

00:29:10.22 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah

00:29:11.50 Sami And, and so yeah, I kind of, I took it upon myself. I was like, well, I think the best way I can help is to just take up space in these spaces. I very intentionally continue to get and made the decision to start talking about Palestine in those gigs.

00:29:21.29 alexei sayle Yes.

00:29:23.62 Sami Cause nobody else was.

00:29:24.11 alexei sayle Right.

00:29:25.14 Sami And I was like, you know, I have, you know, this is, I don't have to, but this is what I believe. is my duty now. It's because no one no other Palatini comedians, or no other comedians, are are going to do that.

00:29:35.57 Sami And I am one of the only Palatini comedians, so I must and must go and do that.

00:29:38.49 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:29:39.87 Sami um and And it's like it we just kept on going and going and going and then... I was doing the material and and the genocide just continued and it wouldn't stop and it wouldn't stop. And I just felt after a few months of that, I just felt like I was screaming into the abyss. And I was putting myself at risk because we've all seen what happened to Reginald D. Hunter, Paul Curry, amongst others. like you know there was There is a real tangible risk. you know there are and There are disruptors and they have a lot they're very well resourced.

00:30:08.13 Sami And so after a while, i just like I just need to take a break. And now I'm coming back into it. I'm i'm headlining headlining a gig in a couple of months. I'm doing some more map gigs. And i' and i'm now um my show has become an hour of a comedy theater show.

00:30:23.97 Sami So that's being put on in May as well. So yeah.

00:30:26.60 alexei sayle where Where will that be?

00:30:27.94 Sami That'll be at Theatrotechnis as part of Schubert Festival.

00:30:28.22 alexei sayle Where will we be able to find?

00:30:32.15 alexei sayle I know.

00:30:32.78 Sami Yeah.

00:30:33.18 alexei sayle I mean, is that your is that your aim now to do and a new to get a new hour and take it up to the dreaded Edinburgh and all that?

00:30:33.59 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Amazing.

00:30:38.62 Sami Yeah, it's yeah it's it's it's happening. um Edinburgh, I mean, Edinburgh Fringe, that's an interesting conversation to have really, isn't it? Because I've i made the conscious decision to sort of de-centre it from my my career and my work and my schedule.

00:30:53.62 alexei sayle Edinburgh. Yeah.

00:30:54.64 Sami Yeah. Because of how, I mean, I'm sure you you know the reasons why it's prohibitively expensive. ah It's quite difficult to get into. It's

00:31:02.74 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:31:02.87 Sami So it's not that I wouldn't do it. um And i have a you know i I apply to do it. ah But you know if i you know if it's not the end of the world if I don't do it.

00:31:10.19 alexei sayle It's not what it was, I think.

00:31:11.09 Sami It's just it's just another festival, really.

00:31:11.93 alexei sayle Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:31:12.76 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:31:12.91 Sami It's just another festival. you know i've you know People go there to get the attention of TV people. you know I kind of got that with my last show.

00:31:18.67 alexei sayle Mm-hmm.

00:31:18.75 Sami And I don't feel like you know it's not, like I said, I've dissented it. it's not It's not the be all and end all anymore.

00:31:24.05 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:31:25.42 Sami But I'd go.

00:31:25.70 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Lester's the new, Lester's the new Edinburgh now I hear.

00:31:25.98 Sami I'd go. Yeah.

00:31:27.75 alexei sayle That's it.

00:31:29.61 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:31:29.63 alexei sayle All right, let's, let's hear that, people.

00:31:31.23 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal It's more fringy. It's, it's what an actual friend should be, but it's big enough, big enough to make you some money.

00:31:34.37 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:31:37.48 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hopefully.

00:31:38.01 alexei sayle Yeah. And it's just been like a trade show, isn't it, for years or anything?

00:31:38.83 Sami Yeah.

00:31:41.61 Sami Yeah, yeah. So yeah, so that's, so to to sort of speak to what you were saying, Talaliah, I took a break and now i'm I'm coming back to it in a much more, yeah, I feel a lot better now.

00:31:52.69 Sami I'm coming back to it in a much more sort of, you know, ah whole ah wholesome, I guess way is ah is is one way of putting it where I'm ah kind of much more aware of what I'm trying to achieve within the work itself,

00:32:04.30 alexei sayle Um, yeah.

00:32:05.91 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal It's kind of like the story of the fucking, I don't know, like the revenge kung fu film that the guys like been through the gauntlet, got beaten up really to the end of his tether, goes home, licks his wounds, recovers for four months in a den, does 200 pushups a day and then comes back and now he's so much more zen and in control, walks into any room, looks at all the enemies, knows exactly where to punch them all.

00:32:11.00 Sami Yeah.

00:32:26.39 Sami Yeah.

00:32:31.02 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That's you right now.

00:32:32.50 Sami Yeah.

00:32:33.12 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal The Arab version of that. The Arab theater clown comic version of the Kung Fu.

00:32:36.06 Sami ah yeah

00:32:39.68 Sami I'm um'm a kung fu master.

00:32:40.31 alexei sayle It's an interesting point as well about, I mean, I think that, well, yeah, I mean, the idea, I mean, I suppose people can't necessarily do it, but um I think to step back from your work, if you can, I think the worst thing is probably to keep on grinding for years and in the same old way without

00:32:54.37 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:33:01.18 alexei sayle reflecting on what you do. And that's not a, you know, there is a certain, there is a certain attraction to work.

00:33:02.25 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal yeah

00:33:06.73 alexei sayle And all the times it does become make you sharper, but you know, there's also something to be said for, for stepping back really.

00:33:08.08 Sami Yeah. Yeah.

00:33:14.64 Sami Absolutely. I feel like I have so much more clarity now that I stepped back for a few months and so much more clarity in what i I can do and how I want to do it and how I want to say it as well.

00:33:17.62 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah.

00:33:23.81 alexei sayle Yeah. I remember terrifying Lenny Henry years ago, because Lenny just worked all on me. I look less so now, but he was, you know, he'd be doing fucking ah RAF bases at lunchtime. And I just said to him, you know, the the less I do, the better I get, Len.

00:33:38.28 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mm.

00:33:38.79 Sami Yeah.

00:33:38.82 alexei sayle And he was just like, just threw him into a terrible panic, really.

00:33:43.65 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah

00:33:45.05 alexei sayle And I was like, I was just trying to fucking fuck with his brain, really. But, ah you know, I mean, I think there is some, there is some truth to that, probably not to be his.

00:33:48.28 Sami You freaked out.

00:33:51.90 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal No, absolutely. When you're even like a skill or a hobby, you you, I find that having a break from things sometimes you come back with a brand new, a bit like ah I'm a amateur drummer.

00:34:01.01 Sami Yeah. Yeah.

00:34:04.35 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And if I haven't drummed in a long time and I sit in front of a kit again. something in my brain is like reorganize itself and I'm just thinking about it in a new way. And i I do something that impresses me and I'm like, oh, that's new.

00:34:13.48 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:34:16.69 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And oh, where did I get that from? Whereas if you're just constantly doing it, you find yourself in one train of thought, you're just going down the same track and yeah, it's ah it's useful in any skill.

00:34:21.40 alexei sayle yeah

00:34:25.73 Sami It's like they say, it's like breathing.

00:34:25.92 alexei sayle ah so Well, take some time off from it.

00:34:28.08 Sami They say, you know, like you creating is like breathing out, you know, and you have to, yeah, it takes a time off for it.

00:34:35.16 alexei sayle Yeah, just stop breathing for a week or two.

00:34:40.80 Sami Yeah, but it's like, you know, breathing in and breathing out, you know, you want to create, it's giving life to something in breath and then you you can't breathe out constantly.

00:34:45.68 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mmm.

00:34:48.08 Sami You have to take a break and take a breath, you know.

00:34:49.47 alexei sayle All right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my own experience has been, yes, that I mean, I would be now that sandwich bar is done and dusted and going out on the 5th of March, everybody write to your MP, email the BBC about it.

00:35:02.92 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah

00:35:07.34 alexei sayle I feel just struggling with with what you do in that situation is just as being a challenge that nobody would dreamt that we would ever face really.

00:35:20.78 alexei sayle And yeah approach um and my approach has been probably been different to yours.

00:35:20.78 Sami Yeah.

00:35:25.11 alexei sayle I mean ah i remember telling Rich, the producer, that um you know, this is going to be, you know, I'm not going to back off from saying, you know, this is going to be all about um ah genocide and, you know, it's going to be really, and I found in the end that really that wasn't my but what that that that approach didn't work for me as an artist, really, that I i couldn't, you know, you can't, and you can't, our job is is to be entertainers, like you said, and get laughs and not to be agitators.

00:35:51.90 Sami Yeah.

00:36:00.34 alexei sayle And so, I i mean, and it it is a show which I think in a way, even when it's not talking about the genocide, it's talking about the genocide, hopefully, with Sami's bar, and I think that it,

00:36:09.16 Sami Yeah.

00:36:13.92 alexei sayle I hope that it will be, you know, really powerful. really And then there's, it's because it's a fused with a sense of, of where we are now, even if I'm just talking about some other subject, it's, it's kind of there in the background, really.

00:36:29.11 alexei sayle And yeah, because you can't be a lecturer, can you? I think with comedy.

00:36:34.00 Sami you can't you can't be You can't be a lecturer at all. I mean, what I find interesting, what I think we've, in in the West, I suppose, ah kind of lost, perhaps, or maybe we never had it, is the the world in which um activism, agitation, and entertainment all coexist.

00:36:57.88 Sami i um um I guess I'm referring to to one person.

00:36:58.46 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Hmm.

00:37:01.18 Sami I'm referring to Dario Fo, who was a very entertaining performer, ah a very you know legendary and celebrated writer. And he was known as an anarchist. He was known and as an anarchist activist who would turn up in the factories, in the striking factories, um and perform for the workers as part of the strike, as part of the the action.

00:37:28.08 Sami And it's more of a question that I'm posing now. It's like, is, is, is there now in light of all this? Is there something, is there some form or some space where all three can coexist? You know?

00:37:41.41 alexei sayle Right. I'm not fucking playing no factories.

00:37:43.81 Sami Yeah, are you sure?

00:37:44.32 alexei sayle but What's my dressing room? Where can I get working on on my helicopter? um Yeah.

00:37:53.04 Sami ah But it's ah it's an interesting question, you know, like can can can it

00:37:56.92 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:37:58.24 Sami can it coexist you know is the is the fact that we believe and i agree with you alexia it's like you know we have to be entertaining is is the fact that we we um we we associate being entertaining with not necessarily being um uh sort of uh yeah or being an an actual activist in the

00:38:16.26 alexei sayle Challenging really, you're making people think. Yeah. Yeah. yeah

00:38:22.43 Sami in the sense of being an activist is the fact that is is that that itself that association is a construct right that association of being no look i'm just here to get laughs you know i'm you know the the sort of yeah you know jimmy car you know he i think he had one point and said he he was like um i don't do politics i don't know political somebody i hope i'm not misquoting him but i i think

00:38:24.07 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mmm.

00:38:35.58 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, McIntyre said, didn't he? if you you know I won't do politics because I'll lose half my audience you know because they'll believe the other thing.

00:38:48.59 Sami the irony of someone like Jimmy Carr doing that, saying that is like, well, ah a lot of what he does is political very political, you know, like, when he when he makes jokes about sponsoring African children, or, or, um you know, he's he's made pretty off colour jokes as well, you know, and it's like, well, that's intrinsically political, you know, and, and this idea that, you know, oh, no, no, I'm it's

00:38:51.73 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:38:54.18 alexei sayle Preferantly, yeah.

00:38:58.37 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:39:01.53 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:39:01.97 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:39:07.25 Sami You know, that there's a risk of that, I, that association and that idea slipping into, um, just co-opting whatever the mainstream is. So basically going, Oh, sorry, BBC. What, you know, what, what did you want me to, I can't, yeah, I don't do anything political.

00:39:19.90 Sami Don't worry. I won't say that that act in itself is political.

00:39:20.58 alexei sayle Mm hmm. Yes, absolutely.

00:39:24.26 Sami Um, so exactly.

00:39:25.98 alexei sayle That's what they that's what they want.

00:39:28.24 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal we could do with We could do with better entertainment at the Palestine marches.

00:39:30.46 alexei sayle No,

00:39:33.01 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um But ah the last one on the 18th of January, there was a full on band playing in Whitehall. Did do you did he do either of you see that? um

00:39:41.64 Sami No. Oh, no. The one with one.

00:39:43.21 alexei sayle no I saw some Dabka dancing and yeah,

00:39:45.88 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal There's some Debke dancing, which is fun. There's always like three dudes with like extremely loud, extremely crackly speakers, which kind of ruin ruin the vibe.

00:39:54.01 alexei sayle It's a lot of drums as well.

00:39:56.37 Sami Ruined it for everybody.

00:39:57.05 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal I fucking get so angry with them. ah But there was like a band set up and there was keyboards, drums, bass, a singer, and they were singing these like ah Palestinian anthems, freedom anthems and stuff.

00:39:59.37 Sami Yeah.

00:40:08.26 Sami Wow. I didn't see that.

00:40:09.02 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal But They just needed a better tech guy because the balance wasn't, you had to stand at the exact right part of the circle to get the right balance.

00:40:14.42 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:40:16.64 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And it was like, ah, so close, but that is the best I've seen so far.

00:40:19.75 alexei sayle That's always the the and that's sort the things that we have to change. The fucking Zionists always have better PA than fucking left.

00:40:26.17 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Better tech guys, yeah.

00:40:28.28 alexei sayle never There's a brilliant photograph. I would always like to find a copy of it. is um it's a the The left-wing MP Clive Lewis. relatively left wing And he's making a speech somewhere.

00:40:38.82 alexei sayle And he's got one of these though little tiny little kind of red and yellow megaphones that looks like a toy.

00:40:44.91 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mm.

00:40:45.42 alexei sayle yeah And what he's doing, because he's obviously not getting um through to anybody and everything, he's held another little yellot in front of the first one. It's a brilliant it's some the fucking stupidity of the left and technology brilliantly. he's holding his chi like If I held another shitty megaphone in front of the shitty megaphone I'm using, you know,

00:41:08.26 alexei sayle <unk> I must try and find where that photo is. If anybody can source it for me, I would be very grateful because it's emblematic.

00:41:11.26 Sami That's great.

00:41:16.58 alexei sayle But yeah, I'll make a note of that for my book.

00:41:17.35 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That's wonderful.

00:41:19.91 alexei sayle ah So, so um what where are where are you at? with what Do you think it's being who you are and doing what you do?

00:41:33.88 alexei sayle Do you think it's helped? Do you think it's hindered? Where is it left you in?

00:41:38.90 Sami Um, interesting question. Uh, has it helped? It's very hard to measure.

00:41:43.99 alexei sayle Yeah, you could do, I mean, you could, you know, I mean, it's just, you know, it's, yeah.

00:41:47.35 Sami Yeah, it's it's, it's something that's very difficult to measure. I think, you know, it's, uh, I think we will, I mean, the question I ask myself isn't really like, well, I do ask myself for I'm helping, but it's also, you know, in,

00:42:01.65 Sami 30, 40 years time if I'm still around, ah you know will I look back and regret what I did or didn't do? you know And i I don't know until I reach that stage, but I would hope that the answer is no, I i didn't regret what I did you know i or i didn't you know I didn't not take action.

00:42:07.89 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Mm.

00:42:08.55 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:42:16.50 alexei sayle i I do think that that does, I mean, would I would argue very strongly for doing the right thing, even if it costs you in many ways, just, I mean, this is going out to the audience, in a sense, that it has been my observation, if you do the wrong thing, it can, if you're an even halfway decent person, it can corrode you in one way or another, really, it can eat it your soul.

00:42:38.00 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal It storms it.

00:42:39.70 alexei sayle No, yes, that's what I was thinking of. Yes, Stormzy.

00:42:43.19 Sami yeah um Yeah, so does it where where where am I at?

00:42:45.77 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Shocking.

00:42:46.61 alexei sayle Que pasa, Stormzy?

00:42:49.36 Sami I think i think i'm yeah i'm i'm I'm glad to be making the work I'm making. I'm i'm very grateful to to have the the physical health, the mental you know wherewithal and the resources at my disposal to be able to to make stuff because, you know,

00:43:06.00 Sami A lot of people don't have that and I'm i'm very very grateful to be able to do that and I'm and i'm very happy to to be able to to do it for a reason that is important to me.

00:43:16.71 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:43:17.31 Sami um And that's sort of that's probably where I'm at right now with it, I think. um

00:43:23.10 alexei sayle Do you think you, I mean, did do you get, do you get those, those panel show offers either in that league or, or do you think you'll never, they would never.

00:43:23.19 Sami yeah

00:43:29.76 Sami No, not not quite. I don't know. I don't know how I would i don't know how i'd perform on a panel show. I think I'd be i'll be quite confused as to what's oh what's going on around me.

00:43:34.88 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:43:39.51 Sami um I would be i wouldd spend too long just staring at Jimmy Carr's round moon-like face.

00:43:44.80 alexei sayle Oh, fucking, what's that?

00:43:45.19 Sami to

00:43:46.59 alexei sayle Oh, fucking, what's she called? Rachel Riley.

00:43:51.20 Sami Oh yeah, her as well, yeah.

00:43:52.47 alexei sayle Yeah, she's there.

00:43:52.66 Sami I would be. I would probably have a mental breakdown if I went on a panel but on a panel show.

00:43:57.83 alexei sayle Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:44:00.73 Sami No, I mean, it's interesting.

00:44:00.95 alexei sayle Yeah. Yes, it's difficult. It's difficult. and Yeah, ah well in fact i have a I was going to go on a panel show and then I found that one of the guests was somebody I would disagree with and I pulled out because I couldn't either sit quietly grinning at them or I would either have to attack them or

00:44:30.11 Sami Yeah.

00:44:30.83 alexei sayle sit there grinning, really. And so that was, you know, that I thought, I mean, i don't regret and I don't regret that decision. It was traumatic at the time, really, because I had actually had to pull out the night before the show was due to record.

00:44:41.13 Sami Yeah.

00:44:45.17 Sami Really?

00:44:45.39 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal yeah

00:44:45.88 alexei sayle Yeah. I don't know if you want the big ones. And it's

00:44:49.97 Sami Are you at liberty to say who the guest was?

00:44:54.29 Sami No.

00:44:57.01 alexei sayle no, I think, but it it was it was one of those.

00:45:00.66 Sami ah yeah

00:45:01.31 alexei sayle you know, anti-Corbin, you know, scientist.

00:45:01.37 Sami i get ah get right yeah

00:45:05.06 alexei sayle I mean, that's not Jewish, but, you know, I feel, I feel after the initial kind of sickening feeling of, of, you know, kind of confusion, how much I am pleased that I took that route, you know,

00:45:06.76 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah the ah the Yeah. Yeah.

00:45:24.74 Sami Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's it's it's interesting how decisions stay with us and then how we look at them in retrospect, isn't it?

00:45:29.70 alexei sayle Yeah, I feel I think what, I mean, what fucking difference, you know, what fucking difference does it make as well in the end, really?

00:45:31.19 Sami Yeah. So that's, that's good. That's great. ah Yeah.

00:45:37.46 alexei sayle Um, yeah.

00:45:39.99 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Go on.

00:45:40.80 Sami What's interesting is something, of because you're you're asking about panel shows and like that the whole world of main what we still consider mainstream comedy, quote unquote, success.

00:45:49.57 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:45:50.49 Sami And something I realized quite early on in the genocide, actually, it was really that's what brought it into sharp relief was how the British comedy institutions and sort of It's apparatus.

00:46:05.31 Sami um ah I think when will you live in Britain and you do comedy in Britain, I think it's very easy to feel like that.

00:46:17.96 Sami that world is is is it, and that's all there is. um And if you want success, if you want to make a living out of it, you need to get on your, you name it, you need to get your sitcom commissioned, you need to get on BBC Radio 4, you need to get on ah be a panel show, et cetera. And something that really gave me, um really sort of drove me forward ah during during the genocide was seeing comedians who had,

00:46:45.98 Sami got their following online. they they were They were not interested in TV. TV wasn't interested in them. And they were doing very well out of it. And they were speaking out. I mean, I'm talking about Samuel O'Baid here, really. ah Whatever you think of his comedy, um the fact remains that he has ah he has garnered a mass online following. He goes to a place, sells it out, and then you know talks about Palestine.

00:47:11.38 alexei sayle I don't know who he is.

00:47:11.62 Sami and

00:47:12.26 alexei sayle so i'm lyn I'm old.

00:47:12.72 Sami He's an American Palestinian or Palestinian American comedian who um he prior to the genocide, he he's a very pun based comedian.

00:47:15.46 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:47:22.85 Sami And now he still does a lot of puns, but it's it's all it's all very, um he still does a lot of puns, but it's all very, it's all very centered around gza Palestine, America, Israel, all that kind of stuff.

00:47:25.29 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Keep going don't stop.

00:47:32.51 alexei sayle All right.

00:47:34.74 Sami Very, very like on the nose, like he'll he really goes for it, you know, and I have a lot of respect for him for that. and you know I was like this guy's just this guy's just done it you know by himself you know he did and it made me go it made me kind of look at the these institutions that we speak about you know of which the panel shows are apart and kind of I think they're on their way out maybe I'll be prove proven wrong but I think I think TV's dying and I think the industry in that

00:47:46.21 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah.

00:48:03.19 alexei sayle Well, it's self-evidently it's dying because, you know, less people are watching it.

00:48:05.98 Sami Yeah. And, and I think, yeah, and it's, it gives me, you know, I don't want to take pleasure in the death of an industry, but it does give me hope.

00:48:15.88 Sami Um, it does give me hope.

00:48:16.29 alexei sayle Yeah, yeah, no, well, it is, it is, I mean, obviously there is also the potential for, you know, that the rights and the, you know, just stupidity is seized on the internet, you know, in a massive way, but nevertheless, yeah, I sometimes, I've said this before, but people sometimes complain because, you know, I mean, obviously, you know, Facebook and, you know, X and, you know, they fuck with,

00:48:29.02 Sami Yeah.

00:48:42.85 alexei sayle you know, they stop they censor people, you know, you know, people moan about that.

00:48:45.28 Sami Oh, big time. Yeah. Yeah.

00:48:48.22 alexei sayle But on the other hand, if you you know, when if you want to, you could still get the word out to millions and millions of people, you can do that, you know, you know, I think about when I was in left wing politics in the 1970s, that you would have to either I can print your paper on this thing called the Gestetna machine, which did like blurry copies. of It was like a fucking, it was like a sort of Italian pasta making machine, but for propaganda, you'd either have to do it like that or you would have to pay to have your newspaper, your terrible newspaper typeset, you know, in lead. and

00:49:27.29 alexei sayle um and then printed off at some printers in Walthamstow and then you would take your papers and try and sell them outside the main railway station and people would punch you in the face and you know, snare at you and that you'd stand there you know, there's the worker, maybe the government's supposed to be on motor.

00:49:40.21 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal but

00:49:40.30 Sami So that's not funny. this Yeah.

00:49:47.03 alexei sayle I mean, compared to that packing hell, the, the, the way to spread the word now is, is so much easier than standing out. You'd have to stand outside some political meetings with every other fucking lefty on the blind side of nerd, dreary bloody papers, you know?

00:50:05.06 Sami Yeah.

00:50:05.06 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

00:50:05.47 alexei sayle So, I mean, it is, there is a world of opportunity out there to to at least get the word out. I know that there is a lot of, there's a massive amount of noise as well, but yeah.

00:50:16.48 alexei sayle So whether you think that's what you'll do, I mean, that's what you want to do.

00:50:19.15 Sami um is to do is I just I just want to make work like really I think I think it's very easy especially I think comics have this problem of we we have this problem of wanting to sort of plan out our careers sometimes and to go if I get this gig and that gig I can do that and that

00:50:24.97 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:50:37.61 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:50:39.21 Sami And I've come to the realization, it just doesn't work like that. You know, if you, like I say, if you want to make God laugh, you make plans, you know, and you you just, it doesn't, it doesn't work like that.

00:50:49.36 Sami you You kind of, I just really want to focus on the process of making good or the best work that I can, whether it's good or not, it's up to other people, but, uh, the, I just want to focus on that process and I want to, to be able to do it in spaces that are appropriate and, and, and.

00:50:55.71 alexei sayle Yeah um I may always think, I mean, in terms of that, you shouldn't see, I mean, the experience of working with hostile audiences is not a bad one for a comedian to have.

00:51:05.90 Sami and supportive. And and that's that's really what I'm doing moving forward. And if something's good, then if the people like it, that's great. you know If it's not, then I'll move on.

00:51:25.20 alexei sayle You shouldn't necessarily put it yourself through it. If you can get away from that shit, but it's a useful thing to have done, I think, really.

00:51:33.91 Sami Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, sorry, by appropriate spaces, I meant like actual actual a theater that has like lights and sound.

00:51:36.30 alexei sayle No, no.

00:51:40.18 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:51:40.22 Sami That's what I mean. Like, sorry, I meant like, and yeah.

00:51:41.59 alexei sayle That'd be nice.

00:51:42.72 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Oh, not the factory then.

00:51:43.75 alexei sayle Yeah, no, no, no, I was, I was, I was suggesting a separate, which is the factory.

00:51:44.49 Sami know but No, no, no, I would.

00:51:44.51 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Okay, not the factory. oh

00:51:48.15 Sami ah

00:51:49.38 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal The way the strikes are happening, going entertaining the strikers.

00:51:49.54 Sami um is the yeah

00:51:51.54 alexei sayle Oh, right. I thought you meant it.

00:51:52.55 Sami Dario Fo, yeah. No, I actually, to to speak to that point, Alexei, I really enjoy hostile audiences.

00:51:53.68 alexei sayle I know.

00:51:58.80 alexei sayle Really.

00:51:59.07 Sami I take great pleasure in hostile audiences.

00:52:01.83 alexei sayle Really.

00:52:02.23 Sami um I've only really bombed, I've bombed, obviously, you know, I'm not gonna, but there's only really one bomb that I actually, that made me sort of go a bit red in the, I get red in my ears, I don't blush, i my ears go hot and red.

00:52:04.70 alexei sayle Yeah. No, we don't, we don't have.

00:52:10.94 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:52:14.93 Sami There's only really one and that was a tech issue. And I ended up eating a cigarette by mistake on stage. It was complicated. um And but Oh, really?

00:52:23.29 alexei sayle Yeah. Well, I hate hostile audiences, but I think that having had that, you know, it's an essential part of your, of your armory that you should know how to deal with them and have dealt with them in the past, I think.

00:52:35.47 Sami Yeah.

00:52:37.67 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:52:37.97 Sami oh i guess it but it depends what you mean by hostile i think if if it's genuinely disruptive and not letting you perform your comedy or get a word in then that's a waste of time for everyone i think yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

00:52:46.74 alexei sayle It is a waste of time, but it doesn't do you any harm to have been through that, you know, and sometimes to have won or even to have lost, you know, it it doesn't do you any harm to have been through that once or twice, I think.

00:52:58.66 Sami um I hope people don't listen to me saying that and now intentionally come and disrupt me.

00:53:01.45 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:53:01.90 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal No, that's the worst.

00:53:02.38 alexei sayle And so powerful.

00:53:02.46 Sami Yeah, that's it. they Well, it's on record now.

00:53:03.94 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um

00:53:04.81 Sami This podcast is going out. So it's there for people to listen to this.

00:53:06.96 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal and When people come in with the intention of disrupting, it's it's the worst.

00:53:09.07 Sami I know. Yeah. It's like, well, he said he likes it.

00:53:10.68 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal But when it's just, when they're bristled and they say something or something strange happens or they they disagree with something you said, that that could be used really well.

00:53:11.11 alexei sayle Oh, yeah.

00:53:14.84 Sami Yeah.

00:53:18.74 Sami Yeah.

00:53:19.11 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And you hinted at something earlier, Sami, and I just want to, any of the best advice ah to to any comedian out there dealing with hustle nuances or just struggling with their material. You said it earlier and I completely wanted to jump on it.

00:53:31.59 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal It's just taking your time. It's so useful. It's the most useful tool on stage. is taking a breath, taking your time, slowing down, and it gives you time to think and deliver your stuff much better and engage with people. It's really cool. Is it worth now in the last bit of our show to talk to Sami about what's happening? Actually, instead of comedy, let's talk about Gaza and Palestine and Trump and all that shit.

00:53:59.67 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal What do you think, Alex? Is that a worthwhile combo?

00:54:01.07 alexei sayle Sure, why not? Yeah.

00:54:02.56 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Do you have you know the latest developments? this you know what new i think it's I can't decide whether it's laughable or whether to take him seriously with with Trump talking about Gaza recently.

00:54:14.89 alexei sayle I don't know that I've got anything interest to say about any of that review something.

00:54:15.20 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal so i' like

00:54:20.42 Sami God knows. I think i i i mean, it's the the way this new right wing of sort of one is by flooding the media, by playing the media and flooding it with garbage.

00:54:37.01 alexei sayle a Yes.

00:54:37.20 Sami And that garbage originates from words out of politicians' mouths. It's not just manipulated ah false news. um And I think I've found a great piece in

00:54:52.05 Sami This sounds very wanky, but it's like that one of the greatest forms of resistance is having inner peace and then being able to center yourself and then intentionally and consistently choose a piece of action or choose a way of life that resists.

00:55:10.66 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:55:11.37 Sami Because what they're doing now is they're going, look at this bird, look at that one there, look at look over here, look over here, look over the here now, look over here.

00:55:14.18 alexei sayle Hmm.

00:55:16.35 Sami And the minute you start playing that game, they've won.

00:55:19.65 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:55:20.33 Sami And so the thing they fear the most is you know our own internal sumud, what Palestinians call sumud or steadfastness internally. i think I think that's what scares them, um these insane right-wingers. And so, yeah, i've that's that's where I am. And the more we can extract ourselves from every system possible, you know whether you want to call it capitalism, neoliberalism,

00:55:47.38 Sami um the the nation state, the two party system, you name it, the more we can sort of extract our reliance on that whole ah constellation of systems, I think the better for the future of us and our children, frankly.

00:55:58.53 alexei sayle Yeah, yeah.

00:56:02.10 alexei sayle I, which is absurd really, but I feel much better because the killing stopped. And I know it hasn't completely stopped.

00:56:07.54 Sami Yeah.

00:56:08.72 alexei sayle And, you know, obviously people in Gaza are living in terrible conditions, but just the just, you know, having to wake up every morning to those, to know that those artillery barrages and those rocket strikes are going on just.

00:56:16.53 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal the volume.

00:56:23.60 alexei sayle to not wake up to that every morning and I'm not saying this is a sensible or rational or decent position but I just feel that just the awareness of that as being like felt like a weight lifted off and it you know it shouldn't in a way but I can't help you know that's just I've thought really used to you know

00:56:25.55 Sami Yeah, yeah.

00:56:48.45 alexei sayle And you know but you know what we will is probably an obscenity and what is now is an obscenity, but just the fact that the killing has stopped. Then there is a there is a den there is a big demonstration tomorrow which they're expecting to be huge.

00:57:02.58 alexei sayle I don't think I'll walk at the front this time. I don't know if I want to be. I want to confront the police again, but yes.

00:57:09.52 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah, we're saying all this and this is being recorded Friday 14th of February and Netanyahu's threatening to begin the bombardments again tomorrow, which is the day this will come out.

00:57:20.57 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal so

00:57:20.82 alexei sayle Isn't it now that Kaza said that, I mean, the Hamas has said that...

00:57:21.65 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal so Hammers have reeled back, yeah, they've they want to comply, don't they all?

00:57:25.14 alexei sayle Yeah. Yeah.

00:57:29.01 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal They want to prevent that from happening, but we don't know.

00:57:30.80 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:57:31.17 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal So if this comes out and the bombs are dropping again, forgive us, we recorded this the day before it came out, you know, fingers crossed for tomorrow.

00:57:35.45 alexei sayle yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, inshallah. All right. Anything else we can talk about?

00:57:49.84 Sami anything else in your list um

00:57:50.13 alexei sayle Good job at anything else apart from breaking.

00:57:51.39 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Well, I'll come to you, Sammy, for any last thoughts, but um I have to crowbar this in and I'm fucking sick of talking about this stupid little Lego Alexi, which is, yeah I know, and it's wonderful.

00:58:00.06 alexei sayle You started it.

00:58:02.27 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And it's our last one comes with a signed a certificate of authenticity.

00:58:06.68 Sami Yeah.

00:58:07.30 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And I have news about the auction. So we're auctioning this off because the winner of it refused to take it and said, let's auction it off and give the money.

00:58:09.49 Sami Anything else on your list?

00:58:15.37 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal to medical aid for Palestinians. Last week it was a dismal like 15 pounds, the auction. It's at 180 pounds now.

00:58:23.03 alexei sayle Whoo, come on. Yeah.

00:58:25.82 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That's right, give it up ah on on Instagram.

00:58:27.35 alexei sayle yeah

00:58:29.92 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Someone on Instagram called edit this out, edit this out, edit this pause out. Tim on Instagram bid 180 pounds for this little limited edition. It's our last one, Alexi Sale Lego. ah keep We'll do we keep that we' keep the bidding open for one more week.

00:58:52.59 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal So you've got another week to up that if you can.

00:58:54.68 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:58:54.70 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Let's see. um And ah please support the show. If you can support the show, keep it going.

00:59:01.40 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:59:01.75 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah any ah Your little contributions, they all add up and it's incredible at our Patreon, patreon dot.com forward slash AlexiSail podcast.

00:59:04.79 alexei sayle Yeah.

00:59:10.68 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal ah You can watch the video edition of this podcast on the Patreon and only on the Patreon and any the other extra bits we do. We might have some fingers crossed some exciting live shows happening this year that will all go on the patreon if you want to support the show help pay my rent ah go to patreon dot.com forward slash Alexi sale podcast and ah Sammy

00:59:22.28 alexei sayle yeah

00:59:33.82 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal has a show coming. I'm glad you've got the dates. We weren't sure if you were going to know your dates in time for this recording, but what, 26th, 27th and the 31st of May at the Teatro Technis as part of the Shabak Festival, which is a great Middle Eastern ah ah Festival, mainly folks around the South Bank, or is it all over London?

00:59:55.30 alexei sayle The extra technician comes in town

00:59:55.64 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal like Oh, well, that's in Camden.

00:59:56.38 Sami I think it's yeah, I think should back might have venues else doing things elsewhere. I'm not sure though.

01:00:03.08 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah.

01:00:04.44 Sami Yeah.

01:00:04.65 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um Well, that's exciting. Is there any other thoughts or or anything you want to share, Sam? And we'll have you back maybe in ah in May to promote the show better as well.

01:00:12.33 Sami Oh, that would be wonderful. Thank you. Yeah.

01:00:13.67 alexei sayle and Yeah.

01:00:13.78 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal um I thought it was really interesting, really nice chatting to you, wasn't it?

01:00:13.85 Sami No, that's, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much guys.

01:00:16.98 alexei sayle No, thank you.

01:00:17.47 Sami I appreciate your time.

01:00:17.94 alexei sayle It's ah it's it's it's interesting to talk. and It's quite granular detail in a sense about comedy, but you know I think that's what we're here for. I should also point out that I ah will be interviewing Ash Sarkar in Bath on Saturday after next, and then in Birmingham on the Sunday.

01:00:39.59 alexei sayle If anybody knows what's going on with the fucking trains up to Birmingham, I'd be grateful if they could let me know. ah ah ah So that's interesting. I'll be really interested to see somebody from Novara Media and you are the new left journalist, Lexi, talking to the kids, finding out what the kids are thinking about.

01:00:55.33 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That

01:01:01.46 alexei sayle ah It will be the only day of the time I've interviewed anybody.

01:01:01.54 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal will be interesting.

01:01:06.33 alexei sayle uh, live, which was late last year, when I did medium, my goalies, I'm assuming that said that I saw a car. What asked me if I'm circumcised yeah or recount tales of having random sex with men who ask her for directions in cars.

01:01:23.05 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal how you You're doing the bath and Birmingham ones, are you?

01:01:27.15 alexei sayle Yeah.

01:01:27.97 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal That's Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd. Bath, comedian, Birmingham Glee Club respect for respectively.

01:01:35.81 alexei sayle Yeah.

01:01:36.36 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Ash Saka in conversation is what you want to Google to get tickets for that.

01:01:40.82 alexei sayle yeah

01:01:41.67 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal I've got nothing to plug. Cause I'm a loser, baby. Um, actually, yeah, well, uh, Sammy came to saw my improv team that I tried to plug the other week, Alexi too much disdain.

01:01:48.98 alexei sayle Yeah.

01:01:54.00 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Uh, he, what did you think of our improv show, Sammy?

01:01:55.92 Sami It was loads of fun, man. I highly recommend people go and see it.

01:01:58.91 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal It's the first ever middle Eastern improv team in the UK.

01:01:59.83 Sami Yeah.

01:02:01.45 alexei sayle I highly do recommend people go and say it's just not me.

01:02:04.44 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Okay. Thank you. We called the bazaar.

01:02:06.60 Sami Didn't have to say, I didn't say that bit out loud for a reason.

01:02:09.87 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal We called the Bazaar Show on Instagram owned by Mark Cockerberg.

01:02:10.01 Sami No, it was great fun. It was really fun. And it's not like, I've not seen anything like it before. So it was, yeah, it was great.

01:02:19.65 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal And ah like I was saying earlier, silly and zany. it's not are We're not up there doing like dark, for preachy political stuff.

01:02:23.98 Sami Yeah. It's there that it's edge it's ah they they're teaching they're basically teaching us about the complexities of Middle Eastern politics in like in a lecture format.

01:02:34.80 Sami um so ah

01:02:35.06 alexei sayle that's

01:02:35.59 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Yeah, through the through the form of poo jokes.

01:02:36.65 Sami it so it's it's it's a three It's a three hour lecture, I would say. ah on No, it's it's not.

01:02:43.59 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Not at all.

01:02:43.69 Sami It's impro it's stupid improv. It's great.

01:02:45.69 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Love you, Sami. Thank you, Habibi, so much for coming.

01:02:46.84 alexei sayle so

01:02:47.32 Sami Thank you.

01:02:47.50 alexei sayle and and

01:02:48.49 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Bravo, Alek and Mabruk. And I'm so fucking proud and impressed of you. And I'm glad I know you, bro.

01:02:54.48 Sami i maybe Thank you and lovely to lovely to see you, Alexey.

01:02:54.69 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Thanks for coming on.

01:02:55.56 alexei sayle Thank you.

01:02:56.46 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Alexei, you're all right.

01:02:58.96 alexei sayle and so Bye-bye.

01:03:00.53 Sami Take care.

01:03:02.24 alexei sayle Bye-bye everybody. Bye-bye.

01:03:06.28 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Don't go anywhere, Sami. The video needs to upload, so just hang tight.

01:03:07.71 alexei sayle No.

01:03:10.01 Talaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalaltalal Don't close your window.