Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

There’s a compelling tale at the heart of Daphna Baram’s show, about her hardcore Israeli mother getting injured in the Six-Day War – which the comedian contrasts with her relatively cosseted life in London.

Perhaps surprisingly for a former journalist, her storytelling needs more straightening out if it's to have maximum impact – while the moments of comic relief are relatively underpowered, too. But it’s testament to the pull of the underlying elements and the glimpse they offer into a different way of life in Jerusalem that the show still holds the attention so well.

The senior Baram is clearly a formidable figure, which has led to some mother-daughter tension, given her indomitable spirit has been passed down the generations. Daphna served in the army, was arrested by those same troops, and worked as a lawyer representing terror suspects on top of her journalism and comedy careers.

Whenever we come away from mum's story and that central relationship, however, the story takes a dip. A minor inconvenience about a fridge delivery is presumably included for its juxtaposition with more life-or-death concerns in Israel, but it amounts to little and barely seemed interrupting a gripping story for. Baram insists Brits love such mundanities, but it's a bit of a stretch.

Similarly, talk of football rivalries, her menopause and Covid curtain-twitchers, seems slight. And sharing her biggest fear of being found dead in her flat only after her body had decomposed is told in yukkily graphic detail.

However, every time we head back to Israel, either in modern times when Baram paid a reluctant visit, or for the family history, things look up. Many aspects of this show are fascinating and Baram is an engaging, if sometimes scatterbrained, presence. Maybe every great story needs a great editor.

• Daphna Baram: Unmuted is on at Laughing Horse @ The Counting House at 12:30pm until August 29.

Review date: 25 Aug 2021
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House