Writer: Joe Haddad
Returning to the stage after a short stint at Peckham Fringe is Joe Haddad’s comedy PalesTEENian. A mixture of stand-up and more theatrical one-man show scenes, Haddad begins his 65-minute piece at the Bitesize Festival at Riverside Studios with a kind of caveat, saying that PalesTEENian is more like a “salad” than a completed performance. He does himself a disfavour: his show is tightly scripted with a strong narrative running through it.
Plays about second-generation children searching for an identity in Britain are not uncommon, but Haddad’s story is a little different as he comes from a Christian Arab family, and he, or at least the character he plays, attended a Roman Catholic school in Croydon. His parents suggest he should say that they come from Jerusalem rather than Palestine. It’s less confusing; less incendiary, perhaps.
Haddad strives to find his identity through stand-up comedy, although at his first gigs at university he tells the audience his name is Joe Adams. A mature student, Scottish but from Iraq, tries to persuade Haddad to own his Arab heritage. Alongside this narrative, Haddad tells stories about his visits to Jerusalem through his teenage years, meeting his extended family and running into trouble at passport control at Tel Aviv. He may be Christian, but his Arab background seems stronger. He talks of his introduction to za’atar, to sheep’s heads at the meat market and to the many kisses of his relatives.
His accent work is excellent, from Palestinian to South London to Scottish, and perhaps this isn’t surprising from a man used to code-switching to smooth away the distances between home, school and university. Each of Haddad’s characters is easy to identify, even if they occasionally fall into stereotype, like the matchmaking mother or the Croydonites who lack any knowledge of Geography.
It seems churlish to say it, but sometimes Haddad is too polished in his delivery, especially in the first half where it seems as if he is just reciting lines and reacting to his sound and light cues. Of course, this is what he is doing, and must do for the show to work, but its effect results in a barrier between the audience and the performer. It takes us a while to know who Haddad really is. Some ums and ahs and a few extemporary hesitations would work to give his delivery a more natural feel.
However, as recent events intervene in his story, Haddad reveals more layers to his character and the humour is now laced with sorrow and, importantly, anger. PalesTEENian’s thoughtful and quiet end is a triumph.
Runs until 2 August 2026
Bitesize Festival 50 runs until 30 August 2026
