Funnyman Steve Weiner - a regular at comedy clubs across the UK - will joke around for a more serious cause next week. Mr Weiner, 29, is performing at a stand-up comedy fundraiser in aid of the Alan Senitt Memorial Trust, set up in memory of the Jewish activist and interfaith worker who was murdered at 26 while trying to save a female friend in Washington in 2006.
Mr Weiner, winner of the this year's Hackney Empire New Act Award, tells People: "I have done some charity stuff before, nothing Jew-related. This is a good thing to do."
A qualified lawyer, Mr Weiner left the profession to pursue a career in comedy. "I hated law. I felt like all the creativity was being sucked out of my face. I like the buzz you get from performing. It can be stressful but it's very addictive."
A skilled caricaturist, Mr Weiner says he gets his inspiration from sitting in his room and thinking.
"I slip in and out of characters - from people that sit on the Tube and sudoku, to mobile-phone salesmen." His television appearances include Channel 4's Tonightly and the newspaper review for Sky News. He is represented by agency Off the Kerb, which also represents Jack Dee, Alan Carr and Lee Evans. As for his Jewish credentials, he says: "I eat a lot of hummus - around three tubs a week - and I got expelled from Hebrew school."
Fellow comedians Adam Bloom and Joe Bor will also be performing at the event, which takes place on
November 2. It is organised by MNS Young Adults.
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