2014 Edinburgh Fringe

More details

The surprise hit of last year's Edinburgh fringe, gathering full houses and four-star reviews along the way, Ivor Dembina returns to Edinburgh with his relentlessly funny outburst of kosher humour, Old Jewish Jokes.

But it's not just the gags. This fringe veteran - celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first Edinburgh solo show - has craftily inserted a thoughtful and telling narrative about Jewish humour in the modern age.

Alongside the typical Jewish shtick and chutzpah, Old Jewish Jokes contains a compelling story about a Jewish comedian finding himself in trouble with other Jews.

Throughout the piece the audience is asked to identify with a single predicament: How does a comedian invited to perform 'modern Jewish comedy' at a synagogue function, deal with a shopping list of things like Israel and the Holocaust that he is not allowed to talk about - and still keep the gig?!

Born and raised in London, 63 year-old Ivor Dembina has a reputation for using Jewish humour to tackle contentious issues. Since his first solo hour Stand Up Jewish Comedy in 1994, Dembina has brought shows such as SadoJudaism, about fetishism and sadomasochism seen through Jewish eyes, and This Is Not A Subject For Comedy, which arose out of his visits to Israel and Palestine as a peace worker.

He has performed all over the UK and in many parts of the world. He is founder and resident host of the Hampstead Comedy Club - which has been one of London's most popular comedy clubs for over two decades.