Having a laugh: Jewish comedy gold at Fringe

Seventy minutes is not long to detail such a lengthy, eventful life but the narrative takes care to steer clear of heavy exposition. One minute she’s looking at a photo of husband no 3 on the ski slopes. “Skiers are good lovers,” she tells us conspiratorially. Then the phone rings. A client. “Love your penis,” she advises. “Later, we’ll talk.” Or she’ll spot a picture of herself with President Clinton. “I was at his inauguration.”

As a small girl, she recalls fleeing Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport. “I would not cry. I am a Jecke, a German Jew.” Chatting gaily to the audience, she happily recalls joining the Haganah, the underground paramilitary organisation, in Mandatory Palestine, where she had the top of her foot blown off. It took her months to walk again. “I was like a turtle. They have hard shells, stick their necks out and get where they want to go.”

It says something about the life of this extraordinary woman that the play’s story arc only reaches her years as a sex therapist towards the end. “In the Jewish tradition, sex has never been shameful… it’s a cause of celebration,” she declares, explaining her joyful approach to the subject that made her a superstar.

But it’s the making of Dr Ruth that lies at the heart of St Germain’s play, which reframes this bubbly pop-culture icon as a symbol of survival and the American Dream. “When I look at my grandchild,” she reflects, “I know that Hitler lost and I won.”

Assembly @ St Andrew Square, until Aug 30

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Max Olesker: Making The Cut*****

Cross your legs: Max Olesker[Missing Credit]

Max Olesker’s extraordinary story of his conversion to Orthodox Judaism in the name of love comes full circle with this one-man theatrical production at the Edinburgh Fringe. For it was here that he met Eliana in a late-night bar, a show-stopping moment in the manic maelstrom of the world’s biggest arts festival.

He knew he was smitten when they repaired to a corner and he found himself slowly sipping Jagerbombs with his new acquaintance, a drink famously necked in two seconds flat. But he could not possibly have known what was to come, a rollercoaster love story of highs and lows, elation and despair.

Eliana was modern Orthodox and Max was a Liberal Jew, an ideal match or so he thought. But it turned out he just wasn’t quite Jewish enough for them to get hitched.

While Orthodox Judaism is “immutable” he informs us, Liberal Jewishness is “kind of a vibe”. And so the agonising decision to convert was made, with gruelling years of daily schooling to contend with as well as a chopping board looming at the end of the process.

Olesker, the Max half of comedy double act Max and Ivan, has already published Making The Cut, the book. Now comes the play, successfully distilling the story into a poignant, humorous hour, incorporating elements of stand-up, storytelling and song. Olesker, a warm, assured presence, seamlessly flits from comedy to pathos, moving in a heartbeat from the solemnity of a visit to Auschwitz to a knife-wielding man holding his penis.

The effective production makes great virtue of a simple staging: just four cloths, a table and a couple of chairs, while a lecturer’s rod appears every time he needs to expound the finer points of Jewish law and ritual, always handled with the deftest of touches.

Towering over the entire venture is the shadowy Beth Din, the panel of rabbis tasked with overseeing the conversion process, who take great exception to his chosen profession. “Is comedy any sort of job for a Jew?” they ask him hilariously.

If the Beth Din ever make it to Olesker’s show, they’ll know the answer to that one.

Pleasance Dome, until Aug 30

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Jess Robinson: Elton Reimagined****

A prima donna: Jess Robinson as Elton John[Missing Credit]

One of the less likely shows at the Fringe is Jess Robinson’s spectacular Elton John homage. Wander into any pub off the Royal Mile and you’ll be greeted by some dubious tribute act or other. Shows abound featuring the music of David Bowie, Abba, Billy Joel and Dolly Parton.

But after an hour with Robinson, you’ll be convinced that the dubious idea of a female impressionist reinterpreting the Elton oeuvre via a host of classic divas makes perfect sense, and is the one must-see tribute act to catch at this year’s Fringe.

Robinson, a regular voice from Radio 4’s satire show Dead Ringers, fizzes with energy as she struts about in silver platform boots and bright yellow frock adorned with feathers. Describing herself accurately as “half girl, half jukebox”, she summons the divas one by one as they jostle to make themselves heard.

Two Hearts features impressive vocal jousting from a crystal-clear Julie Andrews, a honeyed Ariana Grande and a formidable Katherine Jenkins. Lady Gaga performs a reworked Crocodile Rock, while Honky Cat perfectly captures Lily Allen’s insouciance.

Combining elements of stand-up with entertaining family anecdotes (her mum was at music school with a bloke called Reg Dwight), Elton Reimagined is elevated from straight impressionism by Matthew Floyd Jones’s savvy musical arrangements.

Robinson, bantering with her audience along the way, mixes things up with Benny And The Jets, as sung by Britney Spears, seamlessly morphing into …Baby One More Time, while a Shakira rendition of Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word unexpectedly works in a shrieking Liz Truss impression.

The runaway audience favourite comes with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart featuring 20 voices, including Theresa May, Janet Street-Porter and the late Queen filling in for Kiki Dee in a whirlwind bravura rendition. You can even forgive Robinson her “and this is me” moment for the finale as this technically triumphant, playful parade of prima donnas take their bow.

Assembly George Square Gardens, until Aug 30

Rachel Creeger: ‘Queen Of The Jews!’****

Regal: Rachel Creeger (Photo: Karla Gowlett)[Missing Credit]

After last year’s furore over the dramatic cancellation of her show, which saw her having to switch venues amid purported “safety concerns”, Rachel Creeger returns to the Fringe undaunted, as befits the pioneering Orthodox woman comic on the British comedy scene.

Creeger’s laudable and relentlessly upbeat shtick is to take a negative and flip it around. Hence the abuse she received online in the fallout from last year (“Who do you think you are, the Queen of the Jews?”) is mined for the title of this year’s show.

Her inspiration? Her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who would always see the positive in everything.

Hence, Creeger is never one to back down in the face of antisemitism, and there are plenty of examples from low-level speech slurs (“you people”) to critical incidents (being caught up in a 2016 Hamas terror attack by Hamas).

Sadly for her, you could say her comedy shows will always be a work-in-progress, given the current political climate.

Part-stand-up, part-storytelling, Queen Of The Jews is edutainment par excellence and illustrates perfectly how Creeger’s one-woman comic ripostes are winning the war on hatred one gag at a time.

Hoots @ The Apex, until Aug 31

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Paul Foot: The Future****

Chaotic exterior: Paul Foot (Credit: Jonathan Birch)[Missing Credit]

Like Creeger, Paul Foot places his survivor grandma Hilda at the centre of his wide-ranging, ambitiously titled stand-up show, which unfolds like a cri de coeur for optimism in these uncertain times.

The first-time attendee at a Foot show might well fear he is having an on-stage seizure. Restlessly pacing the stage, he flails around drunkenly, arms windmilling, his spaniel hair tossed this way and that, a blur of movement as rapid as his stream-of-consciousness flights of fancy.

If he can find a rabbit hole, he’ll disappear down it and into the realm of the ridiculous.

But beneath the chaotic exterior, his brain is ticking and themes emerge: English eccentricity (he should know), transgender rights, the loss of hope, and illegal immigration (Paddington Bear arriving with no paperwork to become a national treasure). The 20th-century TV tech show Tomorrow’s World, he says, now feels like it would be a horror show were it relaunched today.

Foot is never far from a funny line but keeps tracking back to Hilda, who walked out of Nazi Germany and never looked back, offering her small, battered suitcase as a symbol of hope in a beautiful closing statement.

Underbelly, until Aug 30

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Daniel Cainer: What Am I, Chopped Liver?****

Edinburgh institution: Daniel Cainer[Missing Credit]

Celebrating his 21st Fringe anniversary this year, Daniel Cainer is now a bona fide Edinburgh institution. The comic musician specialises in songs about the human and Jewish condition, and makes for the perfect kick-start to a day at the Fringe with a morning show that blows away the cobwebs and doesn’t hold back from some of the bigger questions.

A relaxed and charming figure at the piano, and with a battery of affecting anecdotes, Cainer works his way through his repertoire, taking in such heavyweight topics as the existence God and the two-state solution.

Yet he’s equally comfortable singing whimsical numbers about chopped liver or Leonard Cohen doing jobs around the house, set to the tune of Hallelujah.

But musical storytelling is where Cainer excels, and the more personal the more rewarding. Here we are treated to tales of his grandparents and parents that play out like a family album set to song. There’s a touching tale of unrequited love, an account of a refugee the family took in from the Kindertransport (“She tries but can’t look back”) and a tragicomic ditty about his father’s encounters with a femme fatale down at the launderette of a Sunday morning.

Finally, in a neat reversal, and by way of homage to his late father, a snatch of film shows the (dirty) old man paying tribute to his son Daniel. “Very droll, much mirth / Should have strangled him at birth.” Touché!

Underbelly, George Square, until Aug 31

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Ian Stone: The Pleb’s Pow Wow****

Sharp tool: Ian Stone[Missing Credit]

At 63, Ian Stone has long since reached veteran status on the comedy circuit and, in recognition of his dedicated service and consistent quality down the years, deservedly picked up the Spirit Of The Fringe Award in 2023.

And in an age when everyone has a thematic story to tell, or a neurodivergent condition to share, it’s refreshing to hear some straight-down-the-line, old-fashioned, no-frills stand-up from one of the UK comedy scene’s surest voices.

Ostensibly, Stone claims to be here to sort political issues through the medium of comedy, but essentially he’s just here to parade his gags. Touching on the theme of politicians as storytellers, he shoots them all down one by one. “How many times did we hear Sir Keir tell us his father was a toolmaker? We know mate, we met the tool.”

And he doesn’t hold back on the Jewish material either, with jokes about the Middle East, Hitler’s alleged micropenis and his Russian forebears. When it comes to the funny, Ian leaves no stone unturned. [Groan!]

Laughing Horse @ the Counting House, until Aug 31

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Josh Pickar: Getting Off***

In his debut hour on the Fringe, Josh Pickar has a fascinating story to tell.

Starting his career as a defence attorney in New York, he was offered the chance to join two pro bono death-penalty cases. What could a fresh-faced gay Jewish kid from the Boston suburbs have to offer a man awaiting execution? Quite a lot as it turns out.

The next seven years saw him take on several high-profile cases, including Dylann Roof, who murdered nine churchgoers in Charleston. In another instance, he found himself coming out as a gay Jew to an openly homophobic, antisemitic white supremacist. Just another day at the office.

Pickar builds a compelling picture of the complexities of his work, while making sure to flesh out the profiles of some of his Death Row clients. As an audience, we’re never uninterested.

But as a comedy, it struggles to get off the ground despite some decent attempts at gallows humour. Pickar, who has subsequently retrained at the renowned Ecole Phillipe Gaulier, needs to have a word with his inner clown.

Assembly Roxy, until Aug 30

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Guy Branum: Be Fruitful****

Feeling fruity: Guy Branum[Missing Credit]

Another new voice over here, Guy Branum serves up one of the most soul-searching shows you’re likely to see at the Fringe.

Branum is not the only comedian at the Fringe asking the big “meaning of life” question, but he’s

certainly the most honest and direct. As a gay, clinically obese man, he posits that his life has no meaning according to fundamental Darwinian values. Does the gay man, or in this case gay Guy, die a meaningless death?

While all this may sound bleak and ultra-heavy, be assured that challenging comedy can still entertain. Branum has won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his writing on the brilliant HBO Max series Hacks, so he’s clearly no mug and his brand of high-intellect comedy delivers as much in the way of smarts as it does laughs.

Not a show for the faint-hearted, at one point he turns up the lights to try to find the second fattest person in the room

But after a faux downbeat ending, Branum then comes storming back for a life-affirming, and very glitzy, showstopper of a finale.

Gilded Balloon, until Aug 31

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Sarah Roberts: Scary Movie 7****

Clutch your pearls: Sarah Roberts (Photo: Rebecca Need-Meaner)[Missing Credit]

Sarah Roberts’ follow-up to her 2024 debut finds the 34-year-old singleton in rude health.

She takes to the stage ominously in a black hooded cloak, chains clanking around her neck. Yet once unmasked she appears to be sweet and charming. That is until she asks, “Did anyone here eat their twin in the womb?”

Playing on the contrast between her harmless appearance and some hilariously filthy material, Roberts has enough of an edge to keep a packed late-night room fully engaged. Yet she’s not beyond making pithily astute observations. “All art is trying to make someone love you.”

Her central thrust is her fear of being alone, allied to a fear of being around people. So how’s that going to work? She has never not been dumped. And if her life is anything like her comedy, then she’s continually oversharing and self-exposing.

She is happy to wander off script and engage with the audience, who lap up her punchlines amid concerns that she might be ever so slightly deranged. There are gimmicks too, as she amusingly looses off a volley of sound-effect gunshots every time she admits to messing up something in her life.

One of Rolling Stone’s Rising Stars of 2024, Sarah Roberts is now, it can be confidently declared, very much risen.

Monkey Barrel, until Aug 30

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Jenny Gorelick: Sorry****

Non-apology: Jenny Gorelick (Photo: Emilio Madrid)[Missing Credit]

Like Sarah Roberts, Jenny Gorelick, also 34, is similarly concerned with dating in the modern age. After a boyfriend cruelly told her that he didn’t think anyone could love her as much as she needed, she’s been reeling from one bad date to the next.

Only you wouldn’t want to cross her. After being stood up one time, she wrote an essay about the experience in the New York Times. Mind you the guy had “sorry mom” inexplicably tattooed on his backside so he doubtless had it coming. Not that he could muster a “sorry” to Gorelick.

Apologies are something that concern this Jewish New Yorker, especially as they seldom fall from a man’s lips. “Even in the song Sorry by Justin Bieber, he doesn’t apologise!” she exclaims.

Of course, the travails of dating are nothing new in comedy, but Gorelick’s gag rate is high and her sharp mind turns what could be just whingeing about men into sharp social commentary. She works the crowd expertly, sizing up any prospective partners.

After all, she has devised a “baby by 40” timeline which reads 35 (dating), 36 (cohabiting), 37 (engaged), 38 (married), 39 (pregnant). But, she warns, “that timeline’s f***ed if I don’t find someone to make out with in this room right now.”

After a succession of Jewish-flavoured Real Housewives jokes – “Love me or hate me, God already chose me” – things turn darker as she ends on some Hitler material with a brilliant callback gag. Not a word of apology needed.

Monkey Barrel, until Aug 30

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Alex Kitson: Now Look Here****

Devonian gabbler: Alex Kitson (Photo: Dylan Woodley)[Missing Credit]

“I’ll play this yurt like it’s Wembley,” warns Alex Kitson at the top of his new Fringe show, and boy he’s not wrong. The Devonian gabbler starts in fifth gear and never lets up.

His vibrant energy and manic air ensure that everyone’s out for a good time and the chaotic vibe is all just a part of his natural charm.

Nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Kitson has the air of a young Tom Rosenthal as he worries away at life’s stresses and worries.

As a Jewish comedian (and from Devon too, that’s got to be a minority of one in comedy) he feels like “we’re not under-represented… It’s like saying ‘I’m actually a Turkish barber’”.

Kitson is concerned about our attention spans and his own algorithms. His phone has him figured out as a “lame white guy” and targets all his insecurities. “It knows me better than I know myself.”

And wait, here’s a novel idea. Couldn’t all that doom scrolling be ended by something called a newspaper? Actual physical papers with a genuine end to the news section so you can move on. “A paper tells you, the news is shit, now chill out and do a Sudoku.”

Old before his time maybe, but there’s a pleasingly retro feel to this Gen Z-er who at 29 already has the feel of an old-school comic.

Hoots @ Potterrow, until Aug 30

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Emily Weitzman: Furniture Boys****

Pull up a chair: Emily Weitzman (Photo: Helios Media)[Missing Credit]

Well here’s a real curio as Emily Weitzman performs a one-woman play in which all her supporting characters are pieces of furniture. And if that sounds completely ridiculous, then you’d be right.

Starting out as a poem about a couch in 2012, the play has evolved into a multi-furniture suite (so much more than a three-piece) with various household items representing New Yorker Weitzman’s past relationships.

So there’s Liam the lamp (“always lampsplaining”), Leonardo the drawer (“would never open up”) and Harold the grandfather clock (“a little too old for me”).

Actor-writer Weitzman is a wonderfully kooky performer, reminiscent of Kristen Schaal with her scratchy, high-pitched voice, and remains defiantly committed to her absurdist premise throughout.

She somewhat grandly calls herself a “multidisciplinary artist” but it is hard to argue with that descriptor given that Furniture Boys employs mime, clowning, stand-up, dance, song and film. Oh and not forgetting puppetry as she performs a chanson d’amour with assistance from four sofa sock puppets.

It’s an off-the-wall piece for sure, and we’re not just talking shelf units, but you find yourself absorbed by Weitzman’s surreal, sometimes sensual musings. Flitting around her cluttered apartment, she keeps returning to a broken chair, which she refuses to throw out as he’s been so supportive. Cue a video of her on vacation where she’s filmed swimming with said chair… In Weitzman’s universe, that feels completely normal.

In an impermanent world, Weitzman just wants something to last in her life. And “furniturification”, and indeed Furniture Boys, gives her exactly that.

Underbelly, Bristo Square, until Aug 30