A young Jewish guy goes to a Nazi meeting assuming he’ll be OK … it’s the definition of white privilege, the Bostonian comic Alex Edelman’s friend tells him. Edelman, a best newcomer winner at Edinburgh four years ago, has always been upfront about his advantages in life – though it has not stopped a certain complacency creeping into his work now and then. But in his new show, he pitches himself squarely into a world in which privilege offers him little protection. Just for Us is built around a visit Edelman made to a white nationalist gathering in New York City. He did so on a whim, motivated only by curiosity and the likelihood, one assumes, that it would make for an eye-opening hour of standup.
In fact, it makes for 20 minutes of standup, because the Nazi gatecrashing tale isn’t very eventful. Yes, it’s full of the incongruous moments and portraits of dim-wittedness you’d expect, and is elegantly told by Edelman – although he overdoes the faux-naivety when it becomes apparent that Jewish visitors, surprise surprise, are unwelcome. But Edelman – unlike Chris Thorpe, in the solo theatre show Confirmation which his conceit brings to mind – harvests no major insights from his experience. We learn little more than that he is seemingly impervious to fear and that bigots really are unpleasant.
And so, that headline narrative is spliced with other anecdotes from Edelman’s life – about his Winter Olympian brother, his own bank accusing him of fraud and, the show’s nadir, about his etiquette anxiety when meeting Prince William. (Apparently “Your highness” is the correct formulation. Who knew? Or cared?) Irreverent it ain’t – but happily, Edelman’s supremely controlled technique and some high-quality gags ensure the laughs seldom falter. From his bulletproof opener about the gorilla who mourned Robin Williams’ death to the quibbling response when a pious friend rejects Edelman’s criticism of his parenting, the jokes are, as ever from this comic, meticulously constructed and smoothly delivered. If they’re accompanied by a degree of self-satisfaction that stops me from loving the show, well, it’s a satisfaction you can’t say Edelman hasn’t earned.
•At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 26 August.
• Read all our Edinburgh festival reviews.
