What people are saying
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“Shout out to @marenariyad for having me and producing an awesome show! You have something special in Kufiya Comedy. Keep going! An audience member asked the comics after the show “how do you know if you did a good job or not” For me, it’s always the laughs. If you ain’t laughing, I’m effin up somewhere. It’s safe to say they laughed the ENTIRE night! Everybody destroyed!”
— KeLanna Spiller, Comedian
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"What did I expect from a show at a business that did henna tattoos and just held 30 people? Not this awesome of a show. Thank you @marenariyad for having me out and for all the comics that did the show. Added bonus. Mondo's Pizza on Lemmon ave. is super legit and it was fun talking with the crowd afterwards. Especially Hussain just in from Boston."
— Barry Whitewater, Comedian
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“It was so good! It was intimate and fun. The crowd was great, and the comics were amazing!"
— Myra Patel, Audience Member
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She highlights, like, femme comics, nonbinary, queer, different races, too. Like, people you normally don’t get to hear their voices in comedy. So I like her mixing it up for everyone.”
-Lauren Rose Brown, Audience Member
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"I really like the communal aspect of everyone sitting down and eating and just getting to know each other."
-Ameer Wahdan, Audience Member
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Kufiya Comedy is such a fun show! I've been to two monthly shows and can't wait for the festival in May!"
Sarah Abdel-Motaleb, Audience Member
Read All about It
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Read All about It 〰️
Travis Wright, “I’m a Fan of” Podcast
“These shows often fly under the radar, with minimal promotion and attendance, making them hidden gems for comedy enthusiasts. Surprisingly, they can often deliver more captivating and entertaining performances than the standard comedy offering.”
NBC5 DFW Community Conversations: Call for Change
"A young Palestinian woman is making sure her culture is represented through unique art, comedy, and festivals….
Dallas Voice
“The festival uses art as a weapon of resistance against censorship and stigmatization, particularly for LGBTQ artists and performers who face discrimination both from within and outside their communities,” Riyad said. “We [the festival organizers] believe that the lack of rights, representation, and self-determination for any group affects us all. Our freedoms are intertwined.”
Dallas Morning News
“The “kufiya” nature of Kufiya Comedy extends to more than just the jokes or the audience members. Sharing food is a baseline gesture of hospitality in the Middle East...A henna salon that morphs into a stand-up club is unusual enough — as is a comedy club that draws this kind of audience in Texas, and then feeds them.”
Jerome Weeks, KERA Art & Seek
“Kufiya Comedy is a tiny, multicultural hub in North Texas. And it’s something of a comedy lab, a training ground…Kufiya Comedy draws an audience that is almost entirely Middle Eastern, African American and Asian American.”
"“The purpose of the comedy show” Riyad said, “is to bring people that typically don’t go to comedy into a space that’s more welcoming, to bring comedy and community together.”"