Trevor Noah Promo (Trevor Noah (Facebook))
What do the Olympics, inappropriate airplane pilots, colonization and Euro Wings all have in common? They are all topics open for discussion in Trevor Noah’s August 4th stand-up comedy performance at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart.
For those who don’t know, Trevor Noah is originally from South Africa. He was literally “Born a Crime” (also the title of his autobiography) because he is half-black and half-white and had to hide his identity while growing up during apartheid. For seven years from 2015-2022, he brought his intelligent and relatable style of comedy to “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central succeeding (and, funny enough, also preceding) Jon Stewart. After stepping down, Noah refocused his attention on his stand-up comedy and his new podcast, “What Now.”
Porsche Arena entrance (Tamala Malerk)
When tickets initially went on sale earlier this year, Noah had only one performance lined up in Stuttgart for Saturday, August 3rd, and, unfortunately, that show sold out in three days. Luckily for me, a fan of Noah for years, he decided to do a second show in Stuttgart, and I grabbed seats as soon as I saw the announcement.
The Porsche-Arena is conveniently located near a U-Bahn stop which makes getting there a breeze. I ran into some trouble finding my seat. Thankfully, the arena was filled with helpful security guards who spoke English and directed me exactly where I needed to go. Doors opened around 6 p.m. and the show, slated to begin at 7 p.m., began around 7:15 p.m.
Stage at show (Tamala Malerk at Porsche-Arena)
Wil Sylvince opened for Noah and hilariously introduced himself with a semi-self-deprecating joke to the tune of “Hey, we don’t have much of a budget.” Sylvince, a New York City native and son of Haitian immigrants, performed a solid 20-minute set about global and immigrant culture as well as the difference between English spoken at home versus at school.
Noah performed a roughly 75-minute set covering a variety of topics. He opened with a story from the previous night which meant that even if one had gone to Saturday’s show, they heard at least one new joke. Without giving too much away, he shared relatable jokes about lost luggage and losing seats to the tyranny of airport regulation. Noah commented about what sports should qualify for the Olympics (side-eyeing rhythmic gymnastics). He even found a way to make people chuckle about European colonization and modern immigration policies. He ended the show with a joke about why airline pilots sound the way they do (for inappropriate reasons) that made me laugh but seemed to branch away from Noah’s typical style of comedy.
Writer with promotional poster (Tamala Malerk at Porsche Arena )
All in all, I enjoyed the show and am glad I finally got to see him live after watching all of his stand-up specials several times. Noah, like other musicians and performers that I have seen recently, did not allow pictures or videos to be taken during the show (understandably). I couldn’t even get a shot as he was taking a bow at the end. I was slightly sad there was no merchandise available to purchase on-site, and we were instead directed to his website which contains no 2024-tour-related merchandise. I have my fingers crossed that it will be updated soon.
If you want to see Trevor Noah, he returns to Europe for a three-show run in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in September 2024. You can buy tickets here.
