Comics bring a Jewish flavour to Edinburgh
Opium Alternative Bar
IT’S LIKE an El AL flight in here,” proclaims the MC of Jew-O-Rama, Philip Simon. The compilation show is partly his creation and aims to bring the best Jewish and Jew-ish comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe together for a daily lunchtime show.
The day I went, Noam Osband and Rena Hundert opened with a song from their hit show, Wikipedilove. They sing the toe- tapping Ballad of Eva Braun, with information taken from her Wikipedia article. Their jolly country songs are laced with clever irony, a great start to the hour.
Al Lubel was next, with some witty but unoriginal jokes. He is “unconventionally good-looking”, which is not as good as being conventionally goodlooking, but better than being unconventionally bad looking. Then came a poet from Edgware, who goes by the name, Wise Bound, the Urban Poet. His mundane poems failed to strike a chord with the audience, alas.
Self-deprecating comic Aaron Levene was the highlight of the set, letting the audience into his love life. The Uncle Fester lookalike provided the best one-liner of the afternoon; there’s orange Jews and lemon Jews, some people find them a little Chasidic.
Ivor Dembina wrapped things up, performing his favourite not-sokosher gags, which were predictably sexist and strange.
Gilded Balloon Teviot
ANDREA HUBERT wants you to know she has no feelings. She loves nothing, laughs at nothing and is impressed by nothing. This emotional chasm is the premise of her aptly named show, Holes of Joy.
As she is never one for observational comedy, you can expect personal debates and revelations from Hubert. Her humour is the darkest of the dark; she is a self-proclaimed Jewish Vampire. She is not scared of making her audience squirm with a string of intimate, self-deprecating anecdotes. Although her humour is not overloaded with jokes, her personal reflections and stories are beautifully honest and original. The Pleasance Courtyard
ALEX EDELMAN has gone funny David Attenborough for the fringe this year. The quirky Bostonian wandered into a white supremacists’ meeting, to try and change their racist minds. It’s quite a brave move for the yeshivah-educated comedian.
Some might feel uncomfortable at the levels Edelman goes to diminish himself on stage. He is certainly not scared to satirise his upbringing.
One might ask if the joke becomes him and his Jewishness, but the questions he poses are a clear articulation of the hate Jews can face on a daily basis.
His infectious energy, nervous physicality and wild expressions help his act, but it is this clever manipulation of politics and play that steer his show towards success.
His personal take on intolerance deserves to be heard and laughed at for all the right reasons.