This guy who was Born a Crime[1] is a natural entertainer! Trevor Noah had us eating out of his hand from the second he got onto the stage! The venue: Stockholm. The show: Off the Record. Date: 15^th June 2024

The arena was relatively dark as the lights had just been dimmed. The faint whiff of popcorn and light beer wafted around the room. Will, the opening act, had just finished putting the crowd into the right mood. The spotlights focused on the lone microphone that now stood on the stage, and an offstage voice (that sounded quite a lot like Will) asked us to put our hands together and welcome Trevor Noah. The crowd clapped happily, seemingly giddy with excitement. We then settled down for the night that was to come.

Trevor walked onto the stage, dwarfed by the giant screens which reproduced his image for those of us further away. He didn’t have much time to properly get through his greetings of Stockholm, before he noticed a group of people right next to the stage, who were having trouble finding their seats. His initial intention may have been innocent enough; to help them settle down. What followed though, was hilarity on stilts! He engaged the group in a conversation that exposed us to their circumstances and social dynamics, wittily drawing funny nuances that only he could. It was so funny, that it had me bent over laughing with tears freely streaming down my face. My sides are still a little sore from all the laughter! And that was just the first few minutes!

For someone whose name was on the tickets as the performer of the day, he was dressed incredibly casually. He was in a pair of navy pants and loose-fitting khaki safari shirt. He could easily have passed for a guy going down to the grocery store for some milk. But with his sharp mind and key attention to cultural detailing, it could well be that he’d spent his week in Sweden figuring out how the locals dressed. If so, casual was spot on.

Trevor is intensely keen and did a great job in figuring out the little social quirks that make the Swedish people Swedish. Like how odd the local practices that sees graduating students celebrate on the back of a garbage truck may appear to a foreigner witnessing it. He also researched local happenings, weaving in tidbits around elections and police activity in Sweden into his act. He also touched on material from some previous acts. I was initially concerned that he was being lazy, probably thinking that he wouldn’t have fans in Sweden who knew his previous work. I was wrong. He had rethought the whole concept. If the initial joke had been a kiosk, what he now presented was a mall complete with valet parking and hotel annex! It is in fact these re-done stories that keep me laughing quietly to myself as I replay them in my mind reminiscing about the show.

Trevor Noah is a star that continues to shine and rise. Go out and see him if he comes to your town – it will be well researched, carry a local flavour, and leave you in a good mood for weeks!

[1] book by Trevor Noah published in 2016