Alex Edelman
(Picture: Alastair Muir)After tracking the online antisemitic abuse levelled at his previous standup show, Jewish American comedian Alex Edelman ended up attending a meeting of white nationalists in New York. As you do. This situation seems both wildly improbable and entirely natural in the world of the hyper-energetic, hyper-smart, 33-year-old star of the late-night US TV chat circuit and creator of Radio 4’s Peer Group.
His attempt to charm 17 diehard racists over pastries leads to galloping digressions into culture, heritage, populism and privilege. The show starts, by the way, with a joke about zookeepers telling a gorilla who has mastered sign language about the death of Robin Williams. But every gag and anecdote ultimately circles impressively back to the central theme of empathy.
