Rachel Berger

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Rachel Berger
Born
Israel
OccupationComedian
Years active1986-present

Rachel Berger is an Australian comedian, actress, and writer. Berger was born in Israel to Polish Jewish parents and emigrated to Melbourne at the age of five. [1]

She is a "performer who delivers rapid-fire lines with assertive and acerbic virtuosity," [2] who has made her name as a stand-up comedian, staging "confronting and politically incorrect" productions including Perfect, Clenched Buttocks, Loose Cannon, The She Comic, Comedy Siren, and Berger Republic. [1]

In 2008, Berger wrote and performed Hold the Pickle. A major departure from her previous work, Hold the Pickle is a monologue that traces her parents' flight from Nazi-occupied Poland to Israel during the Second World War, to running a delicatessen in Acland Street, St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb. [3]

In 2008, Hold the Pickle was nominated for three Green Room Awards: Best Female Performer in an Independent Theatre Production, New Writing for the Australian Stage, and Lighting Design. [4]

In 2010, Berger was cast as Cora in the Australian Production of Calendar Girls , [5] which toured for four months.

Berger is the author of Whaddya Mean You're Allergic to Rubber? (Penguin Books, 2001) [1] and regularly co-hosts The Conversation Hour with Jon Faine on Radio 774 ABC in Melbourne. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wilmoth, Peter, "Sticking to the script", The Weekly Review, 2 June 2010, "Rachel Berger @ the Weekly Review". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  2. Ball, Martin, "Hold the Pickle", The Age, 25 June 2008, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/06/25/1214073299201.html
  3. Scott-Norman, Fiona, "Ham without the pickle", The Age, 13 June 2008, http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts/ham-without-the-pickle/2008/06/12/1212863813597.html
  4. Green Room Awards Association, 2008 Nominations and Recipients, http://www.greenroom.org/au/content/index.php.option=com_content&view=article&id=48:2008-nominations-and-recipients&catid=34:the-nominations-Itemid=55
  5. "Australian Calendar Girls Announced", Media release, 15 February 2010, http://www.aappac.net/aappac/pdf/2010/feb/Australian%20Calendar%20Girls%20Announced%20-%2015%20Feb%2010.pdf
  6. 774 ABC Melbourne, The Conversation Hour with Jon Faine, http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/?date=201001