The World Champion Judah Friedlander

Soho Theatre, London
June 4th-6th, 2013

by Joanna Orland

If you’re expecting Frank from 30 Rock, you will be greatly disappointed in Judah Friedlander’s stand up set.  There is obviously an essence of Frank to Judah as he brings much of himself to his characters.  After all, he is a full-time standup, part-time actor.  The Judah that graced the stage at London’s Soho Theatre was the World Champion!  Of what you ask?  Well, of the world if you ask Friedlander.  He’s pretty much the world champion of Big Ups if you ask me.

Judah’s entire set is basically him bigging himself up, shooting the shit with the audience, and using a classic status game to get one up on whatever the audience throws at him.  This may not sound overly complex or funny in its description, but Friedlander’s quick wit and ridiculous ideas and analogies were the strength and heart of this show.

Yes, it was a bit tiresome to hear Judah’s endless I’m the best at everything attitude, but at the same time, it was kind of hilarious.  His riffing with the audience was spot on, and obviously no two shows would ever be the same as the majority appeared to be completely improvised.  There were some near genius moments on display, my personal favourite being how Judah would sort out the issue of Homelessness if he were to ever become President.

It wasn’t super slick, it didn’t seem overly rehearsed or even scripted for the most part, but The World Champion Judah Friedlander entertained and engaged the audience with silliness and quick wit.  The guy IS a world champion after all!

This guy…