The Moroccan type Sloegie is mainly about laughing at yourself, at fellow Moroccans and at typical Dutch people

Where many theaters have been struggling to fill the room since corona, shows by the Moroccan-Dutch comedian Jawad Es Soufi (33), better known as Sloegie, are regularly sold out. During the premiere of his solo performance Why are you like this? Theater Zuidplein in Rotterdam is filled to the brim with mainly Moroccan Dutch. From the very first sentence of the lanky, hyperactive Sloegie, everyone from teens to middle-aged visitors is roaring with laughter.

Sloegie is a crowd favorite, that much is clear after this evening in which he takes us to South Rotterdam, where he grew up in a deprived neighborhood with a number of blood-irritating family members. For example, Sloegie was once pushed by his sister, broke his arm and ended up in hospital when he was 17. In recurring scenes we see Sloegie building an unexpected friendship with an elderly Dutchman who is impressed by his stories. Sloegie tells the man, among other things, that in secondary school he moved on from pre-vocational secondary education to pre-university education thanks to his mother’s eternally threatening ‘slipper’ (the footwear is even honored with a song).

Sloegie’s heavy Moroccan accent, accentuated facial expression and ironic laughter effortlessly alternates Es Soufi with other characters, such as an exaggerated ABN-speaking doctor, a Hindu tram driver and a slightly psychopathic Turkish girl from his class. ‘I grew up in the Bloemhof district of Rotterdam, where you get to know a lot of different people’, Es Soufi says a few days after the premiere. ‘You see more, experience more, which is very inspiring. I even speak quite a bit of Turkish, which just shows how much influence a neighborhood can have on you.’

Although Bloemhof is seen as a deprived area, its negative influences are not the centerpiece of Es Soufi’s show. What his alter ego Sloegie is mainly about is: laughing at yourself, at fellow Moroccans and at typical Dutch people (‘you know, who buy a coat in an ANWB shop’). Sloegie is not cross-border, but remarkably direct and brutal. He declares without hesitation that the Dutch are known as stingy among many Moroccans and Turks.

Sloegie is clearly not out to build a bridge between white Dutch and the non-Western community, Es Soufi agrees. ‘I am not on stage with the aim: ‘I want to connect.’ I mainly want to entertain. I do, however, generally remain neat, so without citing coarse language and obscene topics, a comedy show can also do without. We have a shame culture in my community, so what I do think about is whether my parents can watch the show without closing their eyes to anything.’

Although that will smack of self-censorship with other artists, Es Soufi seems to shrug his shoulders. After all, in just a few years, he has built up a loyal fan base and more than 70,000 followers on social media. This also includes young people who may know him in a different role: after a communication course, Es Soufi ended up at a secondary school, where he still teaches Dutch. Two years ago, he took a break because he got too busy with his theater tour. In the meantime, he is happy to be in front of the class one day a week again.

For a comedian and actor, Es Soufi is a late bloomer: it wasn’t until he was 18 that he discovered that he really enjoys playing. Es Soufi: ‘I once passed a community center where a couple of boys from my neighborhood were preparing a play. I asked if I could join and so the ball started rolling. We played for a few hundred people in Theater aan de Schie. When I stood there, I thought: this is cool, I would like to make my own show.’

That dream did not come true immediately, but a few years later Es Soufi did manage to join the comedy group Borrelnootjez, which have caused a furore on YouTube and in theaters over the past ten years with their satirical Moroccan and Turkish characters. Sloegie was born during one of their skits.

Es Soufi managed to amass tens of thousands of followers on Instagram in a short time and then thought: this is the time. He put on a jacket, walked into Theater Rotterdam and asked if he could speak to the programmer. ‘I pressed a bit and eventually I sat down at the table with her. She said: this is your very first solo show, we have 850 seats to fill.’ I remember I said 850? That’s 8 percent of my Instagram followers, ma’am. It’ll be fine!’

And it turned out well: Es Soufi’s debut show was sold out, he is now touring the country for the third time and his social media following continues to grow. As well as his ambition: earlier this year he attended a months-long scriptwriting course in Los Angeles. He is also working on a pilot for a series and a feature film. According to the spirited Es Soufi, it’s too early to say when it will all come out, “but it’s going to be great either way.”