Rachel Berger is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, actress, and writer. Berger was born in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

parents and emigrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

at the age of five.Wilmoth, Peter, "Sticking to the script", The Weekly Review, 2 June 2010, She is a "performer who delivers rapid-fire lines with assertive and acerbic virtuosity," who has made her name as a

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

comedian, staging "confronting and politically incorrect" productions including ''Perfect'', ''Clenched Buttocks'', ''Loose Cannon'', ''The She Comic'', ''Comedy Siren'', and ''Berger Republic''. In 2008, Berger wrote and performed ''Hold the Pickle''. A major departure from her previous work, ''Hold the Pickle'' is a

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

that traces her parents' flight from Nazi-occupied Poland to Israel during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, to running a delicatessen in Acland Street, St Kilda, a

suburb. In 2008, ''Hold the Pickle'' was nominated for three

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

: Best Female Performer in an Independent Theatre Production, New Writing for the Australian Stage, and Lighting Design. In 2010, Berger was cast as Cora in the Australian Production of ''

Calendar Girls ''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produced ...

'', which toured for four months. Berger provided the UK voice of Calimero in the 2013 reboot of the same name. Berger is the author of ''Whaddya Mean You're Allergic to Rubber?'' (Penguin Books, 2001) and regularly co-hosts ''The Conversation Hour'' with

Jon Faine Jonathan Eric Faine (born 21 September 1956) is an Australian former radio presenter who hosted the morning program on ABC Radio Melbourne in Melbourne. Faine is recognised as a prominent and influential member of the Australian Jewish communi ...

on Radio 774 ABC in Melbourne.774 ABC Melbourne, The Conversation Hour with

, http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/?date=201001

References

External links

Rachel Berger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Rachel Australian women comedians Australian Jews Living people Year of birth missing (living people)