Seen at Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the 13^th of August 2023

4 stars – peace & fun

Between Israelis and Palestinians there seems to stand a tall being, the ‘Giraffe of Peace’. Noam Shuster Eliassi was raised in the Oasis of Peace, a mixed space for voluntary coexistence for the two nations, and does political stand-up comedy in the name of peace.

Noam Shuster Eliassi’s performance is extremely interesting. She mostly tells her life story, in a delightful way. Her voice is a kind one, that does not deny her Israeli origins, but stresses her work as a peace activist. As a comedian, Noam performs in Hebrew, Arabic and English in front of all kinds of audiences: her work is political in content and action, and beautifully powerful. Her incredible story is a message of hope, and her success is a sign that hope is well-founded.

Noam’s jokes are closely linked to cultural differences, and not every audience member might be ready to laugh at them. Apart from the difference in general knowledge, I have heard and read about ‘Jewish humour’, that is amazingly funny but needs one to be familiar with it. In particular, one has to feel allowed to laugh at jokes that are auto ironical for a Jewish person, but can feel racist or antisemite for a non-Jewish person – and in Europe there still is a big embarrassment on these themes, and for a reason, not to mention politically correctness. Noam’s performance is a safe space for a good laugh.

Info: https://freefestival.co.uk/show.aspx?ShowID=7802

Company Website: https://www.coexistencemyass.com/