From Trevor Noah’s lucky discovery to sold-out Dubai shows: Robby Collins bets on kindness, empathy and laughter

Kindness over punchlines: how Robby Collins fills Dubai rooms with warmth

Last updated:
Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Entertainment, Lifestyle and Sport Editor

Dubai: At a time when headlines feel heavy, South African comedian Robby Collins (read the full interview here) chose laughter over fear.

In Dubai with The Laughter Factory, he found packed rooms, warm audiences, and a city that feels incredibly safe, despite uncertainty due to ongoing regional tensions.

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“There are phones just lying around… sometimes I feel like robbing someone,” he jokes, half amused, half in disbelief.

But beneath the humour is a comic who gets it.

“People come out to escape what’s happening out there… you want to let them go home feeling better.”

His style isn't harsh punchlines or acidic jabs, but just observational humour rooted in empathy.

“You don’t know what someone in the audience is going through,” he says.

And his own journey? Just one of those right-place, right-time moments. Sample this: Trevor Noah walked into a club and caught his set.

“My relationship with Trevor is strictly luck.”

From that fluke night to sold-out shows in Dubai, Collins keeps it simple: show up, stay kind, and let the laughter do the rest.

Manjusha Radhakrishnan
Manjusha RadhakrishnanEntertainment, Lifestyle and Sport Editor
Manjusha Radhakrishnan has been slaying entertainment news and celebrity interviews in Dubai for 18 years—and she’s just getting started. As Entertainment Editor, she covers Bollywood movie reviews, Hollywood scoops, Pakistani dramas, and world cinema. Red carpets? She’s walked them all—Europe, North America, Macau—covering IIFA (Bollywood Oscars) and Zee Cine Awards like a pro. She’s been on CNN with Becky Anderson dropping Bollywood truth bombs like Salman Khan Black Buck hunting conviction and hosted panels with directors like Bollywood’s Kabir Khan and Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh. She has also covered film festivals around the globe. Oh, and did we mention she landed the cover of Xpedition Magazine as one of the UAE’s 50 most influential icons? She was also the resident Bollywood guru on Dubai TV’s Insider Arabia and Saudi TV, where she dishes out the latest scoop and celebrity news. Her interview roster reads like a dream guest list—Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, Robbie Williams, Sean Penn, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Morgan Freeman. From breaking celeb news to making stars spill secrets, Manjusha doesn’t just cover entertainment—she owns it while looking like a star herself.
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