Alex Edelman

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 27th January 2023

It was the first of times, it was the worst of times. And talking about one of his weirdest times, we welcome back Alex Edelman, the award-winning Bostonian who is currently making a big splash down by London Bridge.

Edelman is doing a six-week run of the show Just For Us, the tale of one extraordinary evening he spent with a bunch of sociable anti-semites, which reveals rather a lot about them, and us. That show was a hot ticket and caused much rightful hoopla in the States: did it always feel impactful, as he wrote it?

"I knew it was different from anything I'd ever written," Alex admits, "but I never could've dreamed of the warm reception it's gotten from audiences and critics and etc."

They're not wrong, as it's an absolute masterclass in long-form comedy, at the lovely Menier Chocolate Factory until February 11th. So does Alex have any other big plans or dreams for 2023?

"The show will continue, I'm writing a bunch of stuff," he says. "I hope to have many nice meals and conversations."

It's all about the company you keep. Now let's head back to his first time topping the bill.

First headline set?

Jerusalem, at Off The Wall Comedy Club. It was 2008. I was doing comedy as a hobby. I did 43 minutes. It was every scrap of material I had. I think all of my English-speaking friends from my rabbinical seminary came. It was heaven. I was terrible, people laughed at everything.

What's the best comedy advice you've ever received?

There was a saying that floated around Boston when I was starting about being 'undeniable'. I'm not sure I've executed it, but I've tried to be undeniably a comedian audiences and peers would enjoy onstage.

Was there a big breakthrough show, where everything suddenly came together?

No! Everything got better by degrees. I'm still getting better.

What's the worst stage you've ever played on?

There was a comedy club in New York in the basement of a midtown restaurant named Charlie O's. It was so awful a setup for comedy. The waiters for the restaurant upstairs would walk through the stage on their ways to and from the kitchen. Just brutal. I was there a lot when I was starting.

The oddest audience member?

All of them.

Is there one gag/routine that worked a lot better than you expected?

I had a joke about millennials buying houses that seems to have struck a chord online and it's gotten a lot of views. Can't believe how many people have resonated with it.

Your worst gig-travel experience?

A show in Estonia with Felicity Ward that took a bit of a turn in the middle. This was 2015. Didn't enjoy.

Who would join you on your dream bill, and what slot would you take?

Off the top of my head? Garry Shandling. A US comic I love to watch named Baron Vaughn. Seinfeld. Early Chappelle before everything. A dark comedian named Drake Sather. Bo Burnham. Sam Campbell. Izzard. Tim Key. Romesh. I'd be, joyously, crammed somewhere in the middle.