From Baghdad to Birmingham, air strikes to bin strikes, Hasan Al-Habib’s father has a good handle on what’s really worth worrying about. Horror films? Far from it. Abusive racists in shops? Hardly. But when his son lets slip a vital secret at a leisure park, costing them money, dad unleashes a story from Saddam-ruled Iraq that briefly silences this room – before our host breaks it with an uppercut punchline.
Infectiously effusive, Al-Habib revels in that rollercoaster tone, swooping from fascinating insights to well-timed gags, crowd-pleasing chant-alongs and a good dose of the mischievously provocative. Hence the title. He’s been given a gift this week, the news that Muhammad is now the UK’s most popular baby name, which yields lots of topical juice – but his whole background is a rich seam.
Al-Habib could clearly do a much heavier show about life as a second generation Iraqi, and there are serious moments, but he also bears a greater stigma: being from Birmingham. Meanwhile dad is another comedic gift that keeps giving, as he ponders UK customs, like random fighting (“they don’t even have oil!”).
The ebullient Brummie whips up huge laughs here, and while his tales don’t always ring entirely true, you should leave feeling a little more enlightened too.
Hasan Al-Habib: Death to the West (Midlands), Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 Aug (not 12), 4.30pm