It was a full circle moment for Palestinian-American Mo Amer as he stood on the stage of Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening.
“This is a dream come true,” he told the audience after a thunderous welcoming applause. He was the last act of the night, after four hit-and-miss local comedians and an impressive set from Iranian-American comic Maz Jobrani.
It was truly heartfelt in the first few minutes as Arab fans showed pride and support for Amer, who of course, would crack jokes in Arabic occasionally.
Right off the bat, his Arab heritage, delivered with observational humour and slapstick comedy, took the spotlight as he joked about his Palestinian mom who would have him bring an entire Arabic buffet during a “bring food to school day”.
“Other kids would bring pizza and pies,” he quipped to a chuckling audience, “but my Arab mom, of course, would cook mansaf and prepare Arabic bread with zaatar.”
Although such jokes are almost formulaic among the numerous comedians from the region who have moved to the West at some point in their lives, Amer's charm made them sound novel. His life, after all, growing up in Texas as an Arab immigrant, provided him with enough material to launch a comedy career.
He also has two Netflix comedy specials, Mo Amer: The Vagabond and Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas and is the creator and star of Mo, a comedy-drama loosely based on his life.
Born in Kuwait, Amer fled to the US with his family in 1990, and finally obtained US citizenship in 2009. His Arab identity has always been central to his brand. At one point in his set, he joked about creating a hijabi superhero “who whips people with her headscarf”.
“Did you see her hair? No, because she is too fast, that's her superpower,” he says.
One of the highlights of Amer's set was his story about doing a comedy gig at a small town in Louisiana, where he brought a white guy to open for him and “for when things go wrong” he joked.
After a long set-up, the joke ended with him being racially profiled, with a handful of police officers arriving at the venue. The story was the perfect opportunity to be poignant, similar to the thought-provoking styles of other comedians such as Hannah Gadsby or Trevor Noah.
Interestingly, Amer's conclusion was not as strong as the story itself, leaving you wanting a heavier punchline. This was repeated on occasion throughout where he would spend some time setting up a joke, but would almost always end up lacking a sharp hit.
When comedians go for narrative style, where the jokes are longer and are based on a story, the payoff as an audience member is delayed. You wait for the joke, and if you're lucky, there is one. Amer had the jokes and a naturally engaging comic charm, but his punchlines could have been stronger.
Despite a treasure trove of Arab material, Amer injected random stories in between, presumably as he tried to test new “international” material for another Netflix special. Although they were funny, they felt out of place, making the set feel a bit incoherent.
Touring with Dave Chapelle has seemingly influenced Amer's comedy, and it was visible throughout his set. His jokes are designed to put the audience on the edge, often satirising real social issues that people, especially those of colour, face in the US.
Amer's career is important, and the positive response of the Abu Dhabi audience demonstrated that. He represents the Arab immigrant experience that seems to resonate with most people in a country such as the UAE.
As a non-Arab but someone who also moved to another country, I also found it sentimental that Amer was able to rise up the ranks of the American comedy scene, and find a distinct and hilarious voice that could serve as an inspiration to people who are also named Mohammed, however many they are, as he joked.
