Trevor Noah, Soho Theatre, W1 - review

There's a new South African boy on the block. He ticks a lot of boxes with his witty storytelling, linguistic quirks and good looks.
11 December 2012

South African comedian Trevor Noah is a big star back home and already has one very big fan over here. Eddie Izzard is championing this affable young charmer and with good reason. Noah is a skilful storyteller with a gift for mimicry and a natural antenna for linguistic quirks. Plus good looks. In a business dominated by oddballs, he resembles Will Smith with better ears.

Noah’s show, The Racist, is packed with tightly told tales. His stark account of growing up in light brown limbo with a white Swiss father and black mother under apartheid is compelling and leaves you wanting to hear more. To avoid breaking segregation laws his mother hired another woman to walk with him while she pretended to be their servant. The gags range from the clever to the corny as he explains his dad’s fondness for his mum: “You know how the Swiss like chocolate …”

The bulk of this well-rounded hour recalls a recent stay in America where Noah was finally able “to be black”. For Noah, black Americans are the epitome of cool. They even invented a cool rolling walk, which he mocks perfectly. His journey was complete when he went to open a bank account and had the chance to tick a box that said “black”. This, at last, was living out his dream.

In fact this is a show that ticks lots of boxes. It is observational humour but also political. Dumbed down but brained up. Relaxed and controlled. There is even an Izzard influence in some playful low-altitude flights of fancy. It ends neatly with a timely tribute to Nelson Mandela, including a great impression. Sentimental, but heartfelt too. Go see.

Until January 19, 020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com

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