Gail Clough is one of the founders of Dubai and Abu Dhabi's Laughter Factory comedy nights.
We (Gail and her business partner Duncan Jones) just wanted to watch some comedy. We booked some comics and thought if no one turned up, we'd just sit and watch it. That was 10 years ago - all there was to do was see a couple of duos in hotels murdering Hotel California.
The first one did really well; 500 people turned up. It was at the Premiere, at the old Hyatt Regency in Deira. It was very successful but we knew nothing about comedy. We mixed up mainstream and alternative acts but we realised the mainstream guys were telling the same jokes as each other so we went with the alternative guys who write original material.
About four or five years later, we got very lucky and hooked up with The Comedy Store, which is Britain's premier comedy club, and they supply us with the acts now so the standard really went up almost overnight.
We've had some quite big names on the bill - Russell Peters, he's too big for our show now; Dave Spikey; Ed Byrne from Ireland; and Adam Hills, the great Australian comedian. We've had Daniel Kitson, who's got a cult following in the UK but when he came here, it was too early and people didn't understand. If we had him on the bill now, people would love it. We have a more comedy-literate audience now.
We just used to have old expats but now we have younger people, people who've maybe attended comedy clubs in other countries. The Abu Dhabi shows are starting to get a really good audience. We plan to open a second show there. It's once a month in Abu Dhabi at the Crowne Plaza but we need to expand there.
Not really. The acts may talk about controversial things that are happening in the world but not to be offensive. When we first opened and had some alternative acts some people would say: "That's not funny! A joke needs a beginning, a middle and a punchline." But those sort of people tend not to come anymore, the shows have found their own audience. We have an audience of very intelligent people that are well-read.
It's a very sensitive product and to maintain the quality you have to avoid turning it into Starbucks. We don't plan to expand apart from an extra show in Abu Dhabi. It was never about the money for us; for me it's therapy. When you go out socially here, you get the Middle East interview - what's your name, where are you from, what's your job, how long have you been here - over and over again. It's good to have a different kind of conversation.
They love it. We're getting acts coming all the way from the States now rather than just popping over if they happen to be in Britain - they want to come here and do the gig. It stretches them.
If you get someone who is a big name at home but not here, it's a level playing field. Many comedians have no reputation here so they are purely running off their own talent. And they like that. They're interested to see how they go in front of people who don't know them.
None that are based here, but we have had comedians such as Paul Chowdhry. We'd love to have Omid Djalili, the Iranian comedian, but he's bigger than Whoopi Goldberg at the moment. Then there's an Iranian female comedian that lives in Britain, Shappi Khorsandi - she says she's going to come. She'd be brilliant so I hope we can get her.
It's like anything, you've either got it or you haven't. But if a woman comic on the bill hangs around at the end of a show, men will come up and tell her she's funny for a woman. It's so patronising. It was the same when I was DJing - I'd be up there and they'd ask me where the DJ was.
For more information on The Laughter Factory visit their website at @email:www.thelaughterfactory.com
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
More coverage from the Future Forum
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
