Hasan Al-Habib @ Pleasance Courtyard

Hasan Al-Habib has a PhD in Oncology. Perhaps that’s a strange way to begin a review, but it seems significant seeing as a) this fact contributes to a joke which has landed Al-Habib on the Sunday Times’s Best Jokes of the Fringe, and b) whilst studying, he was part of his University’s Comedy Society. In an excellent display of all he learned whilst there, teamed with a natural pizzazz for the form, Al-Habib treats his audience to some seamless callbacks, crowd-winning call and responses, and impeccable timing. Al-Habib’s confidence and his brilliant delivery are reminiscent of a comedian who’s been on the circuit for years. 

The true beauty of this show lies in Al-Habib’s innate humour, despite the often upsetting distinct circumstances of the comic’s life. A second generation Iraqi growing up in Birmingham, Al-Habib recounts unsettling occurrences of discrimination that forced early reckonings with self-identity (being ‘randomly’ being stopped at airport security, and then the staff asking him for a joke, anyone?). Al-Habib was in primary school when the 9/11 attacks occurred, but that didn’t prevent his teacher from using him and his friend as ‘escape goats’. Build up and release of tension like this, and a particular life lesson learnt at the gates to an amusement park, are the perfect example of the cross section of Al-Habib’s natural funniness, and his obvious commitment to honing his craft. He leads the crowd down a rapidly darkening path, then delivers a cheeky punchline which pulls us quickly away from the edge of despair. 

The perfectly constructed show threatens, on occasion, to fall into a recognisable routine, with (very few!) punchlines becoming predictable. Do not let that perturb you – there is more than enough of the unexpected (some gentle reinforcement of EDL politics, for instance) to throw you off the scent, and to make this a truly enjoyable hour. Al-Habib is absolutely one to watch; not in an airport security kind of way, but in a Next Big Thing kind of way. Catch this hour while you can. 

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Hasan Al-Habib: Death to the West (Midlands), Pleasance Courtyard (Below), until 24 Aug, 4.30pm, £9-14