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Live from Beirut

Adel Karam

Netflix · 2018 · 59 min

A broad, physical hour of traditional Lebanese observational comedy.

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Adel Karam leans heavily into bodily functions and cultural quirks for Netflix’s first Arabic-language stand-up special. Filmed at the Casino du Liban in Beirut, the set relies on broad, physical delivery and observational humor about Arab society rather than political satire. Karam focuses on the tactile and the profane, devoting segments to the agony of a colonoscopy, the complexities of traditional cheek-kissing greetings, and the visceral details of preparing and eating every part of a sheep’s head. The special arrived at a peak moment in his career, filmed while he was concurrently starring in the Oscar-nominated film The Insult. While Live from Beirut represented a historic milestone for regional representation, the material itself divided critics, with some observers pointing to his reliance on outdated racial stereotypes during a segment about a trip to Africa as a missed opportunity to offer something fresh for a global stage.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Hospital visit and colonoscopy recap

    Details health insurance class distinctions, interaction with fellow patients, and the graphic, uncomfortable reality of the procedure.

  2. Different kissing customs in Lebanon and Jordan

    Examines how obsessively Lebanese people kiss each other when greeting.

  3. Trip to Ivory Coast / Africa

    Riffs on observing an outdoor bather using banana leaves and jokes relying on racial stereotypes about African men.

  4. Lebanese eating habits and consuming every part of a sheep

    Jokes about how no part of a sheep is wasted or thrown away in Lebanese cooking.

  5. Watching female professional tennis players

    Sexually crude commentary regarding players' clothing, skirts, and groans during matches.

  6. Opening audience banter with a Syrian attendee

    Asks nationalities of audience members and delivers a barbed greeting to a proud Syrian spectator.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, crude, provocative, and controversial.
On stage
Audacious, earthy, sarcastic, and informal, adopting a conversational posture akin to talking among friends in Lebanese slang.
Pace
Embodied, physical acting out of anecdotes, blending conversational storytelling with provocative delivery.
About
kissing norms and cultural greetings, healthcare and hospital classism, colonoscopy experience, travel to Africa / Ivory Coast, Lebanese culinary customs and sheep butchery, marriage and wedding dynamics

What the critics said

Met with severe criticism from Middle Eastern critics and reviewers who deemed it crude, unoriginal, and laden with lazy stereotypes and xenophobic undertones, viewing it as a missed opportunity for Arab stand-up on a global stage, despite some viewers finding it funny and relatable.

In the room: The live theater crowd was receptive and applauded his opening crowd interactions, while online reception was heavily polarized and skewed negative among cultural critics.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, letterboxd.com, gulfnews.com, hummusforthought.com, 7iber.com, man.vogue.me, arabnews.com.

Backstory

Released the same week Karam attended the Academy Awards for 'The Insult' (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film); marks the first Arabic-language Netflix Original stand-up comedy special.

Details

Released
Taped
Casino du Liban, Beirut
Runtime
59 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Mohamed Khalifa
Topics

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