Just who is Alex Edelman?
This February, don’t miss ‘Just For Us’, the third solo show from stand up comedian Alex Edelman. Already nominated for several awards including an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award, it features a host of hilarious anecdotes about Edelman’s life and Jewish upbringing - with a serious and relevant story at its heart.
After receiving a string of anti-Semitic abuse online, Edelman covertly attended a meeting of White Nationalists in New York, facing the people behind the keyboards. ‘Just For Us’ is his comedy live show that focuses on the encounter.
But just who is Alex Edelman? We delve into his life and career.
Alex Edelman’s comedy career
Born in 1989 in Boston, Massachusetts, Alex Edelman grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family alongside his brother, the Olympic bobsled and skeleton athlete Adam ‘AJ’ Edelman. He began performing stand up at the age of 15, and after high school he spent a year in Jerusalem before studying English at New York University. In both Jerusalem and New York, he continued to perform stand up, and credits a trip to the UK with shaping him as a comedian.
In 2014 won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer for his show ‘Millennial’ at that year’s Fringe, being the first American to do so since Arj Barker in 1997. His second show, ‘Everything Handed to You’ was - as stated on his website - about family, Jewish identity and the scarcity of plug sockets in airports. It was well received at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival, and achieved a sell-out run, garnering four and five-star reviews from many top publications.
In 2015 Edelman performed in Berlin and Moscow with Eddie Izzard, and has also opened for some of the biggest names on the UK comedy circuit, including Ricky Gervais and Jack Whitehall.
His third stand up comedy live show, ‘Just For Us’, debuted in 2018 and has already enjoyed several extended runs in the UK. It was performed in part at the White House in December 2022 and is now running at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 26 February.
Beyond stand up
Between comedy live shows, Alex Edelman keeps himself busy writing for television. He was involved in the Netflix comedy-drama Teenage Bounty Hunters, as well as serving as a staff writer on The Great Indoors. His radio credits include BBC Radio 4’s Peer Group.
He also writes regularly for magazines such as The Atlantic and The Believer, and has been involved in the writing and production of several documentaries.
See ‘Just For Us’
You can catch ‘Just For Us’ at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark until 26 February, and book your tickets today via KX Tickets, with prices starting from £29.50. As a specialist in London events and theatre tickets, we offer access to some of the best West End and off-West End productions in the city.
