In his recent article, Omid Djalili makes a case for the power of comedy to effect incremental cultural change, and this forms a part of his justification for performing at the Riyadh comedy festival (I have been criticised for being part of the Riyadh comedy festival. This is why I did it, 8 October).
This may be so, though such a power will be minuscule, filtered not only by official censorship but by the knowledge that any truly challenging topic will not be broached. The understanding is that performers will not rock the boat, so it seems uncompelling to justify participation on the basis that the boat might be slightly rocked in vague and inoffensive ways.
