New Scot to host charity comedy gig for Palestinian family
Hitesh Rathore, originally from Sirohi, India, moved to the city two years ago and has put on a slate of sold-out gigs since beginning his comedy career, as well as garnering recognition from press.
Now, Rathore is using his platform to raise money for a family of nine in Gaza by performing his show Chips, Cheese and Curry in Blackfriars of Bell Street on July 3.
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In a social media post, he said: 'I have done many things I never dreamt of, and some things I didn't even know could be dreamt.
"But here we are, doing a solo show for charity. [The] last one was so freaking beautiful – this one will be better.
"Please come and support my dream, this time for charity."
Proceeds from the gig will be donated to an emergency fundraiser for Abdul Rahman Al-Mughanni and his family.
The six children, alongside their parents and grandmother, were forced to flee from their home in the east of Gaza due to Israeli strikes in the region.
They initially sought shelter in an abandoned house with a tin roof in Khan Younis before it was bombed by the IDF.
After fleeing to Rafah, the family initially planned to escape Gaza. However, with the Rafah crossing now blocked, the aim of the fundraiser has changed to rebuilding their family home in Shejaiya, which was also destroyed in an Israeli strike.
Chips, Cheese and Curry previously sold out twice as a work-in-progress show during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
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Rathore described the show, saying: 'This isn't just 'haha-I'm-an-immigrant' comedy. It's about finding a home in a place that sometimes doesn't know what to do with you.'
The comic, who made it to the semi-finals of Ricky Gervais's Spirit of Comedy Award, previously told The Herald about why he moved to Glasgow, noting that it was a decision made on a whim after hearing a Nina Nesbitt song.
'It was in lockdown, I was watching this TV show called Elementary. It had this song in it, Feather on the Clyde,' he said.
'I had no idea where the Clyde was or what Glasgow was, but I decided I was going to move there.'
Rathore was also labelled as 'one to watch' by The Stand Comedy Club.
The show is 18+ and tickets are available here.
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