From small-town beginnings to redacted world tours, we chart the meteoric rise of Trevor Noah ahead of his Abu Dhabi gig…

Born a Crime funnyman Trevor Noah brings his Off The Record tour to Abu Dhabi this month for some capital laughs.

His rib-tickling comedic antics and unmissable live entertainment take place at the Etihad Arena on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

Trevor Noah

Born in Johannesburg during the Apartheid legislation, he has accounted in his biography and on stage the struggle he went through growing up as a mixed-race child. He attests a lot of his comedic flair to this.

In the beginning of his career, Noah regularly played the comedy circuit across South Africa, before relocating to the United States in 2011. His rise to fame was steep and steady, until 2015 when he landed his biggest role to date, as the host of The Daily Show. But his love affair with the stand-up stage continued and through the course of the last decade, he’s hosted a string of Netflix specials and countless comedy shows around the world.

*Funnybones galore: All the comedians coming to the UAE*

A frequent visitor to the UAE, back in 2016 he praised the emirates for their diversity. He told What’s On, “There’s an old anecdote that travel is the antidote to ignorance and every time I come to the UAE I see and learn something new.” Adding further praise for the cultural diversity and harmony among different backgrounds here, he described how enjoyable it was to see how well it all works. Injecting his signature observant comedy into the interview, we laughed out loud when he likened Dubai’s taxi drivers to F1 drivers.

The Emmy award-winning comedian, author, and TV presenter last performed in the Emirates in October 2023, when he headlined a sellout gig in Dubai. Chock full of deadpan humour and his enjoyable powers of observation, expect belly laughs when he lands in the capital this month.

Get to ‘Noah’

Trevor Noah

5 fun facts about Trevor

1) Trevor Noah first started earning money while he was at school by selling bootleg CDs.

2) He is fluent in seven of the 11 official South African languages. He also speaks German.

3) Before becoming the host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah hosted his very own talk show in South Africa, Tonight with Trevor Noah.

4) As a teenager, Noah convinced his fellow classmates that he was Busta Rhymes’ hype man. He was tricked into performing at a talent show where the organisers promised that Spliff Star (Busta’s hype man) would perform. The audience couldn’t speak English so Noah made lyrics up on the fly and the crowd went wild.

5) As a child, one of the ways Noah would entertain himself was playing with gunpowder from firecrackers. One time when his mum caught him, he denied it. But it was to no avail – he’d singed his eyebrows off.

Trevor Noah Off The Record Tour, Etihad Arena, Yas Bay, Abu Dhabi, Wed Feb 28, ticket prices from Dhs325. abu-dhabi.platinumlist.net