Fast, furious and fiercely funny – Just For Us at the Menier
Alex Edelman's one-man show is intelligent humour at its best
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
David Yosef Shimon Ben Illouz Haleivi Alexander Edelman (Alex Edleman to you and me) has for the past few weeks been filling the Menier Chocolate Factory auditorium with laughter with his witty stand-up routine about Jews, Olympians, Christmas and white supremacists. This may sound like a somewhat eclectic mix, but the way the Bostonian-raised comedian weaves it all together is nothing short of genius. You do need to be able to keep up, though, as Alex is king of that very Jewish trait of digressing – and why say something in two sentences when you can turn it into a lengthy monologue, right?
Describing Judaism as the Hotel California of religions (“you don’t get to leave when you’ve had enough”), Alex tells us about the sign-language communicating gorilla who mourned the death of Robin Williams, that the reason we smash a glass at a wedding is because it represents happiness and that Donald Trup’s son-in-law sits behind him in shul.
Like a cross between Jackie Mason and Woody Allen, and brought up in an orthodox home, Alex is naturally full of Jewish self-doubt – am I too Jewish? Not Jewish enough? Is vaccination against the Torah? – but takes care to explain what might not be clear to non-Jews or the less observant. This is high energy, highly intelligent humour.
Just For Us runs until 26 Feb – don’t miss it.
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.
