Limmud-Oz Sydney 2011 | The Shalom Institute

Akmal Saleh

Akmal Saleh immigrated to Australia from Egypt at the aged of 11. Growing up in suburban Sydney, his recognition of the differences between his Arab heritage and the Australian way of life shaped him as a comedian. While Akmal began his comedy career going by the name Peter so he could get booked in RSL clubs, he has gone on to tour with international comedians such as Steven Wright, Ben Elton and The Amazing Johnathan.

Akmal began his career in 1992 in a series of shows with fellow comedians Anthony Mir and Gary Eck. He performed at the 1996 Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festivals and was subsequently invited to appear at the Gided Balloon in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Akmal has since performed to sold-out crowds at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, New Zealand Comedy Festival, the Vancouver Comedy Festival in Canada, the Sydney Cracker Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival (where he was one of the hottest tickets of the festival), the Enmore Theatre and Opera House.

He appears regularly on TV shows such as Rove Live, The Footy Show, The Glass House, Thank God You’re Here, and on commercial radio. He now has his own syndicated weekday radio show on Nova Sydney and Melbourne.