Bringing his recent Edinburgh show to town, the 29-year-old is at his best when laughing at the absurdities of his home continent – whether it’s a group of Zambian schoolchildren screaming in joy upon being taken on a journey to their country’s first escalator, or the tribulations of growing up in apartheid-era South Africa as the product of a white father and black mother. Here Noah is the living embodiment of that ancient comedic maxim: grotesque human rights violations equals huge LOLs.
The second half of Noah’s act did him a disservice, focused mainly on his travels through America and too often lapsing into the “Black People Talk Like This” schtick that Def Comedy Jam did to death 15 years ago. Call me prejudiced, but I like my racial humour a little less vanilla.
Noah is an electrifying presence onstage, and the few moments of spontaneity in his act demonstrate his ability as a performer, but it was a shame that he let the laughs he got at the beginning of his set carry him through to such an underwhelming finish.
BY SEAN SANDY DEVOTIONAL
