Bassem Youssef

Bassem Youssef will bring The Middle Beast Tour to The Chicago Theatre on Friday, September 13.
 

SHOW DESCRIPTION 

In Bassem Youssef’s one of a kind solo comedy performance, the audience is taken on a personal journey from Bassem’s career as a heart surgeon in Egypt to finding himself in the middle of the Arab Spring and becoming the host of the largest political satire show in the history of the Arab World. His jokes earned him worldwide recognition as “The Egyptian Jon Stewart,” but also got him arrested, interrogated, and ultimately prompted his escape to America just as the country was going through its very own identity crisis.  

BIO 

Bassem Youssef was the host of popular TV show Al Bernameg – the first political satire show in the Middle East. Originally a 5-minute show on YouTube, Al Bernameg became the first online-to-TV conversion in the Middle East and the most-watched show across the region with 30 million viewers every week, and over a million subscribers to its YouTube channel. In recognition of his success, Youssef was named among the Time Magazine most influential list for 2013 – under the “Pioneers” category, was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the CPJ, and was chosen by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the global thinkers during the same year. Youssef currently performs his one-man show, THE MIDDLE BEAST around the globe and the first title in Bassem’s children’s book series, The Magical Reality of Nadia published on February 2nd, 2021 by Scholastic and is currently being developed as an animated series. Bassem can be seen in MO (Netflix), RAMY (Hulu), LIONESS (Paramount+) and UPLOAD (Amazon). In October, 2023 Bassem’s interview with Piers Morgan saw worldwide acclaim and was shared and reposted on the internet all over the world – it is now the most viewed interview in the history of Piers Morgan Uncensored. 

Mobile Tickets

• Please be sure to have your digital tickets easily accessible on your phone to enter the venue. For instructions on how to download your tickets, click here.

Travel Light

• Bags must fit comfortably under your seat, and oversized bags larger than 22″ x 14″ x 9″ are prohibited. To view the full list of prohibited items, click here.

Please note that venue protocols and policies, event requirements, and government mandates are subject to change, so be sure to check back here for the latest information prior to your event. For more venue information and FAQs, visit the Chicago Theatre FAQs.