Review: 0 Ambition – A Jew Running the Numbers, Fringe 2026

Tucked into a nifty wee side room in The Alchemist was a nice long room for this show. I was encouraged to go grab a drink before queuing by the lovely lady scanning in tickets, but unfortunately the Alchemist costs a kidney for a drink (they are extremely creative and well crafted though).

The room was pretty roasting, but there were fans inside which were much needed. Our lovely comic for the evening, Ori Halevy, is an Israeli Jew living in Germany who has tried to avoid talking about the important things. His identity, his self worth, dogs – you know, the hard hitting stuff.

So, like any reasonable, funny person, rather than therapy he decided to use his comedy skills to talk to a room full of strangers about it! Using his trusty notebook, the crowd picks a number and Ori will do a set about it with plenty of crowd work and on the fly jokes sprinkled throughout. After being in this line of work for 12 years his comedy is well spoken, sharp and sometimes polarising – but that’s the sort of humour I just happen to enjoy. 

Comedy 

Ori’s comedy is dark and teeters on the edges of what is acceptable at times, taking pot shots at Germans, himself, and unfortunately for me glasses wearers (-1* for you).

During his set he mentioned a woman he had done comedy with taking offence to him being both Israeli and vegan, saying it’s ironic and he explained he’s never spoken up about the political nature of Israel because he does not wish to be tarred with the same brush.

At this point a few people stood up, said his comedy wasn’t for them and left. Instead of it breaking his stride Ori worked it into a bit and kept the remaining crowd laughing. I understand that the mention of Israel puts people on edge, but I believe that is why it is important to still support those from there who want nothing to do with the ongoing issues.

I found Ori’s comedy to be honest, relatable and I found him to be very charming and confident in his delivery, even when he was telling jokes about being an insecure person. He was quick with retorts when people would shout out to him and very witty in those. 

Overall

I had a great time at this show! I’d seen a few comedies at this point in the day and this one made me laugh the hardest. I can completely understand why his comedy is not for everyone but it certainly was for me.

Highlights that stayed with me were the quick quips he would make such as “I am like the Epstein of dogs – I can’t help but touch them” and his bit about German emergency alarms on phones. So, so funny. This bald man DID make me giggle, thank you Ori.