Trevor Noah: The Racist – review (original) (raw)

What's so funny? Growing up mixed race in South Africa was a bit of a hoot – at least if Trevor Noah is to be believed. Noah, now resident in the States, has been brought to the fringe by Eddie Izzard, who is obviously a fan.

Is it easy to see why? Noah comes across as a lovely chap – and a smooth comedy operator. He's instantly and effortlessly in control of the room, and his material is insightful and entertaining, at least for most of the show.

I feel a "but" coming. The show tails off towards the end. Noah has 45 minutes of material on his upbringing, his feeling about race, and his emigration to the US, and then a tacked-on section with workaday stuff about satnav and funny foreign accents.

Let's focus on the good stuff. It's remarkable to be able to say, as Noah does, "I was born a crime." Mixed-race relationships (Noah's dad was Swiss, his mum South African) were forbidden under apartheid. In public, Noah had to pretend someone else was his mum. And, being half-white, he got called "master" (as a joke) by his own granddad.

What a wonderful system that was. It certainly confused Noah, who grew up with conflicted racial allegiances ("That's racist! – but I see what he means") and headed to the US in the hope of healing his split identity.

Does it work? It must have done – because it would be hard to seem more at ease with yourself than Noah does. He positively cruises through the show – although the material (there's an interesting section about US racial terminology) has sharp edges. There's also an enjoyable paean to the black American vernacular. Then there's the satnav shtick.

In summary: The pedestrian ending only slightly detracts from this impressive fringe debut from a classy young comic.