Shtick Yourself: 10 of the best Jewish shows at the Edinburgh Festival
From comedy and acting to magic and music there's so much to see
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
The festival runs from 4-28 August. Tickets for all shows are available at tickets.edfringe.com
Fake Jews
Stand-up comedy from Luke Messina Meginsky (USA) and James Regal (UK), pictured above, two of the Barcelona scene’s most prolific comedians. James and Luke come from Jewish families but have never practiced Judaism. Watch them attempt to reconcile their current lives with the weight of their cultural past, take a surreal look at 21st century antisemitism, plus do some light-hearted stuff about hip-hop and dating in your early 40s. Fake Jews is for anyone who simultaneously feels like a member and an outsider of any community.
Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull 16 – 27 August at 18.30
Suzie Depreli’s passive aggressive mission to educate the world about what it means to have an orthodox family that ate sausages, an Asian Catholic husband that uses more Yiddish words than her Nana, and celebrate Passover without believing in God. With original songs performed live and anecdotes that will have Jewish and gentile audiences alike feeling like they were present for it all, Suzie claims this is how to be Jew-ish in Britain today.
Hill Street Theatre 21-27 August at 10.40
Anything That We Wanted To Be
Renowned Jewish theatre director and producer Adam Lenson (Public Domain, Vaudeville Theatre; Wasted, Southwark Playhouse) fuses his own battle with skin cancer in an exploration of parallel universes to create an interdisciplinary work. Using his personal experiences, Lenson presents a life-affirming new show about learning to accept the choices you made, instead of worrying about the ones you didn’t, and depicts his journey from training to be a doctor and then becoming a theatre director, to being confronted with life-changing news.
Summerhall 2-27 August (not 14 or 21) at 12:30
Showgirls and Spies
The highly acclaimed Young Pleasance ensemble will bring to life the thrilling true story of Florence Waren, an intrepid Jewish resistance fighter and dazzling showgirl leading a perilous double-life in World War II.
Pleasance Dome 3–13 August at 15:00
As a queer American Jewish female magician and animal rights activist, Liz Toonkel felt the magic show format needed a fresh approach. So you’ll see no live animals or seedy sexism, but lots of “wow” moments, laughter and incisive wit. Joyful, funny, and thought-provoking, illusions flow seamlessly through a narrative that revels in finding fun ways to look at human agency, consent and animal rights. Liz brings Jewish values to the show, having been inspired by Maimonides’ five steps for the process of repentance.
Greenside @ Infirmary Street 4-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-26 August at 23.25
Millwall Jew
Ivor Dembina is well-known at Edinburgh Fringe for his comedy hit Old Jewish Jokes. In this new show, Dembina, a south London Jew who is tired of people assuming he supports ‘Jewish’ football team Tottenham Hotspur, decides to swear allegiance to his local club instead – Millwall FC.
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 3-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-27 August at 14.15
Daniel Cainer’s Jewish Chronicles
This multi award-winning Edinburgh storyteller is much loved for his stories in song. Cainer’s stories are about all our families and all our foibles, lovingly and intelligently depicted – smart, funny, timely and deeply moving.
Underbelly George Square 2 – 28 August at 11.50
Normal Schmormal
This new stand-up show from the star of the Radio 4 series Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children and author of the book Normal Schmormal, is about the joys of raising children with special needs. Ashley Blaker has six kids, three of whom have an SEN diagnosis. Between endless meetings, countless therapists, public humiliations, failed playdates, surreal monologues and occasional violence, it’s certainly not what anyone would call a ‘normal’ household – but would he want it any other way?
Underbelly Bristo Square 2 – 27 August at 16.15
Rachel Creeger: Ultimate Jewish Mother
Whether it’s a relationship problem, how to word a sensitive work email or the best way to cook a brisket, a Jewish mother has all the answers you need. Who gives the best advice? Who deserves the title of Ultimate Jewish Mother? You decide! This new interactive comedy show is by from multi award-winning stand-up comedian Rachel Creeger, also a tv and radio star and co-host of popular podcasts Jew Talkin’ To Me? and Leaving Erinsborough.
PNH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies Aug 6-11, 13-18, 20-25, 27 August at 13.30
The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria
The final day of the festival will mark 80 years since the death of Boris III. This energetic production comes to the Edinburgh Fringe to share a largely forgotten story of World War II – the suspicious circumstances of the King of Bulgaria’s demise, how 50,000 Jewish people were saved from deportation and death, and how the world forgot all about it.
Pleasance Dome 2–28 August (not 14) at 17:20
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
