Middle Eastern stand-up first project for Firebreak Productions

Recently established production company Firebreak Productions has announced its first project, The Cradle of Comedy, an episodic documentary that takes a no-holds barred look into the rise of stand-up comedy in the Middle East.

The Sydney-based company will produce the series for SBS.

Firebreak’s principals are Peter Herbert, Mark Strong, Mark Joffe and Ivor Findlay, who will be looking towards scripted drama and comedy, documentary, children’s programming and game development.

The Cradle of Comedy will follow a collective of rising stars of Middle Eastern origin, entertaining audiences in occupied territories, war zones and traditional Islamic strongholds. Confirmed comedians include Ahmed Ahmed (pictured), Maria Shehata and Australia’s Ray Badran.

“A documentary about stand-up comedy in the Middle East is perfect for us as our first project, as it blends together two things that on the surface don’t seem to fit together, but in fact show us some real truths about all of us as people,” says Mark Strong.

“We became aware of the growth of the Middle Eastern comedy scene through a number of contacts in Dubai, and when we looked at the calibre of international and local comics involved, we realised there was a rich story that cuts across our preconceptions of the Middle East. This is a high concept project, which goes against the grain of what most producers are doing right now.”

Filming  will begin in October in Australia, Dubai, Kuwait, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US and UK, with other countries in the Middle East still in negotiations for filming approval.