Hasan-Al Habib: Stuck in the Middle (East With You) | Upstairs at Pleasance Courtyard (Ed Fringe)

Hasan-Al Habib’s second excursion at the fringe has the confidence of a show that knows it’s funny and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries just that bit further. His Iraqi-Brummie background gives him a wide range of cultures to roast and he doesn’t hold back, nearly skewering both Boris Johnson and arabic aunties with well-polished jokes. One sequence involving the royals started with half the room clutching their pearls before the well-deserved waves of laughter came crashing through, a testament to both his tight joke construction and the endearing charm with which he delivers his stories. The show was once again is a selection of vignettes and musings interwoven with a larger story from his (recent) past, bringing up childhood memories and serving them with a comedic spin to roars from the crowd. Most of these started from one-liners, with Hasan cleverly building layer after layer to steadily growing laughs before hitting the emotional release valves with a well-timed handshake with his front row habibi.

Some of the heavier stories had a raw vulnerability to them, with musings on familial love and both what it means to be a son and a good parent. There were some stillness at these, with the audience not quite sure how to react: the same was true from some of his Islamic-based jokes as well, with the crowd hesitating before giving them the chuckles they so well deserved.

Overall, the show was full of laughs and a real joy to watch, a celebration of the diversity in british comedy and a dazzling performance from a brilliant comedian.

Stuck in the Middle (East) With You is running at various times up until 30th August - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review