When the Palestinian comic Alaa Shehada does stand-up around the world, he notices different reactions from the crowd. In the Middle East and Arab world, he tells me over Zoom, audiences are more reactive, whereas in Europe they will laugh, stroke their chin, and appreciatively go, “Hmmmmmm.”

Shehada, a 34-year-old comedian, was born in Jenin, a city located in the West Bank. As revealed in a powerful new documentary, Palestine Comedy Club, he has a special routine for English-speaking audiences. “Before we start, my name is Alaa, not Allah,” he says when entering the stage. “I’m here, but God is everywhere. Watch out. And if you don’t believe in God? Just enjoy the show.” He then has a gag about how British people pronounce his hometown as Je-nin, to pretend they know what they’re talking about.

“You cannot perform the same show in Palestine and the UK,” Shehada tells me. “You need to educate international communities, to make sure they understand what we’re talking about, so that we can build a joke on it. I don’t do that in Palestine. But also, when you talk about the occupation, you don’t want to be investigated or taken away. You can be arrested at any time. You have to be careful all the time.”

Directed by Alaa “Regash” Aliabdallah, Palestine Comedy Club follows six Palestinian comedians, including Shehada, as they risk their lives touring locations across Palestine and Israel. These include Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin in the West Bank; Haifa, Jerusalem, and Nazareth, where Palestinians live under the Israeli system; and in the Syrian Golan Heights. Upon an invite to do stand-up in London, Shehada and two other comics find themselves in the UK with gigs that overlap with October 7, 2023.

As demonstrated in the film, the six comics have sharply distinctive styles. Diana Sweity jokes about her sea view in Beit Awwa: “A sea of refrigerators, washing machines, curses…” Coming from Hebron, Raed Al-Shyoukhi describes his daily interactions with the Israeli army. Hyperactive, clownish Khalil Al-Batran lives in Ramallah. With a guitar, Ebaa Monther sings about Golan Heights. Hanna Shammas, meanwhile, is a Palestinian who lives as an Israeli citizen in Haifa.

“Everyone has their own experience within the Palestinian community, because it’s so divided,” says Shehada. “A few of us can tell our stories, but there are thousands and thousands that can be told. Our mission as comedians and artists is to tell stories from the people who cannot be on stage. We have the power to stand on stage and share them with audiences.”

The Palestine Comedy Club (also known as PalCom) was founded by Shehada, Sam Beale (a UK-based “Doctor of Comedy”), and film producer Charlotte Knowles. Before Balad, the six-person tour from 2022 depicted in the film, PalCom ran workshops in Jenin for local communities – including a women’s centre and a refugee camp. After touring the doc in cinemas, PalCom will have shows at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. “Comedy, jokes, and storytelling is a big part of who we are as Palestinians,” says Shehada. “It should be shared with the world.”

Knowles was also a producer on Palestine Comedy Club. On a separate Zoom call, the Londoner describes early trips to Palestine where she was a white European photographing checkpoints, observation towers, and soldiers. “That’s what my eye was immediately drawn to,” says Knowles. “You want to have a common enemy with the Palestinian people, and you want to show it to your community, to be like, ‘This is wrong.’ But by the time of my seventh trip, all my pictures were of people, communities, and families. That’s the real story, but it’s what we never see, because everyone’s fixated on the infrastructure of the occupation. Working with this group of people, my perspective totally shifted. I made sure it was directed by Regash, not me, because Regash was able to give it a perspective that I could not give, because it’s not my life.”

“Comedy, jokes, and storytelling is a big part of who we are as Palestinians. It should be shared with the world”

For example, Palestine Comedy Club documents Shehada’s close relationship with his mother, whose mischievous humour steals the film, and family gatherings that involve swapping food and jokes. In a tense moment, Shehada and three of the other West Bank comedians must go through checkpoints, fearing they’ll be arrested by soldiers. When the stand-ups safely emerge hours later, it’s with ridiculous bucket hats bought as a celebration. “Their instinct is to find a laugh in everything,” says Knowles. “I had no real sense of what was real danger, and what wasn’t, because there were constant jokes being made all the time! That was a separate challenge, but we got around it.”

After performing in London during the events of October 7, 2023, Shehada attempts to return to Jenin through a flight to Jordan. He waits three days to cross a bridge; when the army won’t let people pass through checkpoints, he traverses dangerous mountain roads. Reunited with his family, Shehada is even more fearful than before. The doc follows Shehada as he encounters a seemingly endless line of bombed buildings, and learns of friends and family whose lives were lost. “You’re trying to see the memories that you’ve created here, but they’re not here,” Shehada tells the camera, standing upon rubble. “This street does not exist anymore.”

When asked to name who he admires nowadays, Shehada picks two Palestinian comics, Amer Zahr and Mo Amer, and Mark Thomas. (Thomas visited Jenin, saw Shehada, and brought him back to the UK for shows in 2018. Shehada credits Thomas with inspiring PalCom.) However, Shehada cites his family as who inspired him to enter stand-up: “Their storytelling is what really made me fall in love with comedy.” Now based in Amsterdam, Shehada regularly speaks to friends and relatives from Palestine before his shows, even if just to check they’re still alive. “It’s distracting and painful,” he says. “But I’m a professional.”

As for the film, Shehada says, “More people need to know what’s going on. We need people to know the reality and the truth.” He adds, “I’d love for people to come and enjoy the Palestinian – or my mother’s – humour. Come and get to know my mother.”

Palestine Comedy Club is out in UK cinemas on February 27.