Al-Hezb El-Comedy: Egypt's platform for good laughs

We want to breed a generation of stand-up comedians that will have a positive influence on their communities, says founder

He spends all day long thinking about logistics and numbers; he is consumed with each and every detail of the group, their new jokes and each aspect of tonight's gig.
He knows that in a matter of hours he will be under the spotlight, dozens gazing at him. This might be tedious for others but for him it is exactly where he wishes.
Hashem El-Garhy left his job in professional marketing to become a comedian and then an entrepreneur. The stand-up artist is one of Egypt's most promising comedians as he does not only embody the role of the comedian but also advocates spreading comedy.
Ahead of the upcoming year and only days before their first 2016 show on Saturday, Daily News Egypt met El-Garhy to find out more about his startup, Al-Hezb El-Comedy, the status of stand-up comedy in Egypt and the company's next destination.
What is the main concept behind Al-Hezb El-Comedy?
I am building Al-Hezb El-Comedy to have a similar stature to Comedy Central and FunnyorDie.com in the Middle East. I believe that comedy is an extremely powerful tool; there are so many socio-economic problems in Egypt and I believe that tying a message to comedy can bring about a change in people and make them better human beings.
The important thing is to make sure that anything that is conveyed is relatable to the masses and plays on the fact that it can easily be understood through humour.
To simplify all that, Al-Hezb El-Comedy is a one-stop shop for aspiring stand up comedians to come and explore their funny bone and learn how to harness and express it in ways beyond their imagination.
We want to breed a generation of stand up comedians that will have a positive influence on their communities. We produce comics, train them, advise them, and make them the best version of themselves. We also create content that is both funny and impactful to all audiences and will continue to do so until we have our own television channel.
I personally want to inspire the people who have not had the privilege of a fancy education, the right upbringing, or the right living conditions to utilise their God given talents by being funny.
We want to spread joy, love, and happiness through the fine art of stand-up comedy.
When and how did you start this project?
I started this project in 2011. I was at my nine-to-five corporate job and I realised that everyone after the revolution was doing something and here I was, a marketing major sitting behind a corporate banking desk job that was rapidly killing my creativity.
I finally mustered up the courage to make a Facebook event called "Al-Hezb El-Comedy Open Mic" to be launched on 19 August 2011. After carefully asking for suggestions from close friends about naming the project, Al-Hezb El-Comedy was born.
How many stand-up comedians have you launched so far?
I cannot say that I have launched many stand-up comedians yet. Let's just say there are aspiring comedians out there whom I am helping become professional by getting them good gigs. So to answer your question, five stand-up comedians to be exact.
Over the years, how did the audience's feedback grow or change?
Well it certainly is better to get 100 people's feedback as opposed to seven. Over the years, due to the situation in the country and lack of capital, I could not reach my audience properly at the beginning. I could not take my project on full time because it was not sustainable at that particular time.
In the beginning, our audience was our circle of friends and their friends and so on. Now, in 2016, we have grown sufficiently to have loyal fans that come to our shows regularly, whom we have gotten to know on a personal basis. Al-Hezb El-Comedy is a community where everyone, comedian or not, can have a great time.
How do you perceive the status of stand-up comedy in Egypt?
I personally believe that the status of stand-up comedy in Egypt is growing exponentially from where it was nine years ago when the Axis of Evil Tour came, here, and opened the country to it. At that time, we did not have a platform for stand-up comedy so the industry was still in its early form.
We had one big show in 2009 called "Shut Up and Laugh", which was started by Rami Boraie and a group of us. It was a huge success, with an audience of 750 people. It was a foundation and cornerstone for stand-up comedy in Egypt.
Nowadays, there are a lot of aspiring comedians who are contacting us regularly asking about how they can get involved. Our open-mic registrations have soared since our platform became known for giving people a chance.
For stand-up comedy to prosper, here, we want everyone, including the media, to come to our shows, review our comedians, and help us create a bigger impact. Creating a system between the comedian and the press will not only elevate the status of stand-up comedy as a profession in Egypt but will give us the respect we deserve in creating the art that we love.
What is next for Al-Hezb El-Comedy?
We want to definitely continue putting smiles on people's faces and spread laughter, joy, and positive energy to our communities. When I first started Al-Hezb El-Comedy, one of my goals was to make stand up comedy a regular thing as opposed to a special occasion. Now, I am proud and honoured to say that, in 2015, we have hosted multiple comedy nights throughout the week at different venues around the city. We want to continue recruiting comedians and giving people opportunities to grow in an industry that was unknown to Egyptians.
Also, I personally aspire to export these magnificent talents I call "Hezbians" (members of Al-Hezb El-Comedy) to the rest of the world so they can spread joy, laughter, and happiness everywhere on the globe.
We definitely also want to conduct national tours that will bring comedy to audiences outside Cairo, Alexandria, and into the rest of Egypt.