Lebanon’s King of Comedy discusses life in the spotlight
Afshan Ahmed
The National
On a recent episode of the satirical TV programme The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, an “expert on the Middle East” Masir Ali called on Skype to talk about being a “radical Muslim”.
Wearing snow goggles over a loosely tied ghutra and clutching a skateboard, he made a hand gesture signifying love and said: “Duh, I’m a radical Muslim … I think it [started] the day my dad took me to see Tony Hawk in the X Games, back in 1997.”
In fact, Masir Ali was a character played by Lebanese-American comedian, Nemr Abou Nassar.
Currently on a world tour, titled Nemr, he will perform at MusicHall in Dubai on Saturday, along with Dubomedy founders, Ali Al Sayed and Mina Liccione.
“It was a sketch that defends Islam,” Nassar says about his appearance on Larry Wilmore. “I’m Christian but acted out a Muslim character playing on the term ‘radical’, which also means really cool and hip in teen lingo.
“It was a funny sketch but with a very powerful message – and I was proud to be able to stand up for my Muslim brothers and sisters.”
Nassar’s tour, which is being filmed, will also be in this vein of secular comedy that he likes to explore.
“I just love the fact that my comedy has given me a platform where I can use my voice to represent not the religion, not the politics, but the goodness of our people,” says the 33-year-old, who has been dubbed “Lebanon’s King of Comedy”.
“With ISIS, war and destruction of our culture and civilisation, and the media’s obsession with Donald Trump and everything he says, our image has taken a big hit. This show is great because it reminds us why we are a proud people and celebrates what it means to be a part of older civilisations.”
Nassar has toured the world with several stand-up shows in recent years, including Eye of the Tiger (2009), EPIC (2010) and Victorious Secret (2012), which was also released on DVD.
His current tour has included several stops in the United States, with more to come closer to home in Oman, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. He also hopes to sign deals with television networks and video-streaming services to reach a wider audience.
“I’m hoping to sell this special to Netflix or HBO,” says Nassar. “My desire is to show the world on a large scale what Middle Eastern comedy is about.”
Nassar’s family fled the Lebanese civil war when he was 3 years old, and they lived in the US until 1993.
Thrown into difficult – sometimes life-threatening situations – Nassar and his family often turned to humour as a coping mechanism.
“I remember the time my parents weren’t very happy and we moved to San Diego,” he says. “I vividly remember a day when I was 5 and I heard them laughing really hard while watching a stand-up act. We then began to record all HBO comedy specials.
“That’s when I knew that I was either going to be a comedian or a Ninja Turtle – I haven’t given up on the Ninja Turtle dream yet.”
The 2006 turmoil in Lebanon fuelled his passion further.
“I’m a purpose-driven comic,” he says. “I started it to save lives by spreading happiness and reminding people we can all be from different background but can enjoy comedy in the same room.
“The UAE and Lebanon are places where the crowds are so diverse,” he says. “If you can make everyone laugh here, it means that you are really funny.”
In 2007, Nassar became one of the most-renowned members of the former Axis of Evil comedy tour, which included fellow Middle Eastern-American comedians, Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani and Aron Kader.
Nassar contributed a 30-minute set for reunion tour, The United Nations of Comedy, in 2013, at the du Forum on Yas Island.
But he says he will decline any touring opportunities as part of a comedy troupe in the future.
“What the Middle East needs is not a travelling group of comics, but more comics like me who come out with one strong show and voice,” he says.
“I want people to accept me as an Arab and as a Lebanese. Similarly, I want an Emirati comic to create a 90-minute special and bring their flair to the world stage.”
Nassar says that after his tour concludes in Los Angeles next month, he has his sights set on wider international exposure for his comedy special. “I think, as Arabs, we haven’t been able to export our culture effectively to the west,” he says.
“The biggest misconception is that we have nothing in common. I don’t blame them, I blame us. So I want to get on to a national platform in the States.
“Watching a comedy special filmed in the Middle East and the US will change the mindset of many misinformed Americans, in my opinion.”
Source: www.thenational.ae