As a child, he asked his mother how to deal with racism, racist comments and people that are mean. She advised him to “shake it up with the love of Jesus” and throw it back to them.

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Dear Stemians,

Do you like to laugh a lot? That’s a rhetorical question, because who doesn’t? There is a slight chance that you don’t yet know a talented and hilarious Trevor Noah. If this is the case, and if you are not fierce supporters of Donald Trump, you gonna enjoy my recommendation!

So allow me to introduce the stand-up comedian Trevor Noah and his show, Comedy Central’s “Daily Show”.
I fell in love with his sense of humour last year, in 2017. I don’t recall if I have watched his daily show or one of his one-man performances, but after our first meeting I wanted more!;) He made me dive into YouTube in order to see more of his shows.

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah is a very talented comedian living and working, from 2011, mostly in the United States of America. He was born in 1984 in the Republic of South Africa, during the apartheid times. His mother was black South African and his father was white Swiss German (one of his many jokes on that “after all Swiss like chocolate, don’t they?”). At that time any interracial relationships of sexual context or marriages were illegal. Trevor, being the result of this relationship banned by the law, experienced the unfairness of the regime and suffered from it since very early age. At some point, his mother was even sent to prison, and his father abandoned the family and returned to Switzerland. This complicated family situation did not crush him and later on Trevor was able to draw inspiration from it: he made it a topic of his performances and of a book (realised in 2016) "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" which landed on a New York Times bestseller list.

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At the age of 18, Trevor started his career as an actor, and later on as a writer, television presenter, and comedian. He quickly started to be recognisable and attract attention. His first attempts to conquer the American scene took place in 2012 and 2013 when he performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, and later, on “Late Show with David Letterman”, both well-established tv shows loved by Americans.
The biggest break-through for Trevor was when he started the cooperation with “The Daily Show” in 2014. He definitely had a good timing because already in September 2015 he succeeded Jon Stewart (1999–2015) as a host of the show!

"The Daily Show"

“The Daily Show” is the longest-running program on Comedy Central (on air since 1996) and has won 24 Primetime Emmy Awards.

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The Daily Show is a nightly news parody that takes a reality-based look at news, trends, pop culture, current events, politics, sports, entertainment and the media. In each show, Trevor Noah and a team of correspondents comment on the day’s stories employing actual news footage, tapes field pieces, in-studio guests and on-the-spot coverage of important news events.
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The show airs from Monday to Thursday and lasts around 30 minutes.

I must be honest with you, I haven’t seen any of the episodes of the programme while it was hosted by Jon Stewart so I cannot comment on it. Therefore my opinion is strictly limited to Trevor’s show.

I would say that the success of “The Daily Show” is definitely a teamwork. Each episode consists of various segments written, prepared, hosted by talented performers and/or actors. I particularly enjoy the work of 2 women: Desi Lydic and Michelle Wolf and of Hasan Minhaj. The other members of the programme are: Aasif Mandvi, Adam Lowitt, Al Madrigal, John Hodgman, Jordan Klepper, Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black, Ronny Chieng and Roy Wood Jr.

Episode when Noah argued that Trump is the perfect African president source

For those of you living in the USA- just click here to watch full episodes of “The Daily Show”. If like me, you are from outside the USA, you can enjoy the selected parts of the show listed on its official YouTube channel: Here.

What is Trevor Noah’s secret?

Some of you may wonder what is so special about Trevor Noah. After all, American television is packed with various types of tv shows or stand-ups.
In my opinion, Trevor brings, as an asset, freshness and definitely the international perspective. He is charismatic, intelligent and sharp, and he doesn’t shy from weighty, often delicate or unpopular topics. I enjoy watching his acting skills, especially when he uses his ability to speak in multiple accents.

"Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood”

The book is collection of personal stories about growing up in South Africa during the last gasps of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that came with its demise. Already known for his incisive social and political commentary, here Noah turns his focus inward, giving readers an intimate look at the world that shaped him. These are true stories, sometimes dark, occasionally bizarre, frequently tender, and always hilarious.
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Trevor’s stand-up performances

On the YouTube you will easily find Trevor’s stand-up performances:

• “African American” (2013);
• “It's My Culture” (2013);
• “Lost in Translation” (2015);
• “Afraid of the Dark” (2017).

In this part of his comedian career, he focuses on his, mostly race-based, observations and experiences of America and American society, sharing with us his “outsider’s perspective”.

Let me know what your opinions on Trevor’s performances are?
Would you recommend other comedians worth watching?

I wish you all a lot of laughter!
Kasia