I am sure juggling all those things together can be a bit too hectic, how do you keep calm when things get out of control?
I play with my son, I relax with him, he’s my zen.
And when things do get out of control what ticks you off? What turns Wissam from the quiet-calm man into an angry one?
I generally never fight, I am always calm because I don’t take life too seriously, but the one thing that can make me really angry is sexual harassment on our streets, the foul language used against woman here. I wish they’d make the laws stricter here, like in the emirates, where any harassment is penalized by jail and a picture of the harasser in the news paper.
How do you think you can, as a well known comedian in Jordan, make a change regarding the issue of harassment?
I can only do little, the government should have stricter laws for this. Like if the ticket for crossing a red light is a 1000 JD, no one will ever cross the red light.
I am a huge fan of standup comedies and sketches, like your show (Bath Bayakha), but I have always wondered why there are always more men who are in comedy than women (Yes, we know there’s Tima!). I have to ask, in your opinion—is it harder for women to break into comedy? Are there just less women interested? You have worked with a few women along the show, how was that like for you and for them?
Actually there are a lot of really talented women here that are extremely funny and witty and right on, but they opt not to be on TV because of our society, it depends on the family, but most just can’t because their fathers prohibit them from going on TV.
Politics and Comedy are the new trend these days; look at Jon Stewart, Bassim Youssef and many others. Have you considered handling political issues in your show/s? Do you think as a comedian/artist you are obliged to discuss politics?
I don’t discuss politics simply because I am not into it, it’s all a bunch of lies. I think the news we watch on big networks is not what’s really happening, I lived that in Lebanon for several years, so I won’t go into it, but if a parliament member shoots another colleague, I’ll definitely mock it.
In your opinion, do you think credibility is essential even in comedy shows? How has Bath Bayakha portrayed the Jordanian society in a credible way?
Of course it’s very essential to be honest, in bath bayakha we tried to portray what people honestly felt and genuinely experienced.