In exile from Egypt, Bassem Youssef is still making people laugh
A pioneer of political satire in Arabic has become an English-speaking stand-up comic
AS BASSEM YOUSSEF, an Egyptian comedian, sauntered onto the stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London on March 9th, members of the audience filmed his entrance. No matter that they had been told repeatedly to put their phones away. “You guys just don’t listen to instructions,” chastised Mr Youssef. “It’s because of people like you we don’t get visas here.”
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Too funny by half”
Culture April 1st 2023
From the April 1st 2023 edition
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