I’m catching Max Olesker on his final night of Fringe 2026. Bounding with energy, this joyful fellow simply carries something infectious. With a broad smile plastered across his face, Olesker is a charming storyteller, and one who delivers, for the most part, with this charm. Some moments feel, to me, a little generic, and struggle to connect with the audience, but he is streamlined and delightful.
Olesker charts his life story of his Jewish identity, and how this interacts with both his romantic and his family lives. He explores how the beliefs of his Orthodox girlfriend’s family interfered with his own, and portrays the challenging aspects of Orthodox Judaism through this witty narrative. It is a little tricky to navigate such events in this retelling fashion, especially given the breadth and depth of happenings, although Olesker does well to make this story stand out by the end. At the start it was difficult to engage with the story: just one composed of relationships, told in a way much like other Fringe storytellers. However, the absurd events of Olesker’s narrative differentiate it from others. He tells of his father’s dementia, unbearable grief and the pain of making bodily compromises for marriage.
There are issues through the narrative — as humorous moments cropped up throughout the performance, the style of the performance became unclear. Supposedly funny remarks about Olesker’s family or his Jewishness seem to lean on the side of cutesy rather than comedic — Olesker should pick a lane a little more. As the production goes on, his moments landed more appropriately, although still the audience was either left waiting for a huge new gag or waiting for the tears to fall. In short, due to the mixed messaging in this performance it was unclear what to feel, or what there was to gain from the performance.
Despite all this, Olesker could virtually be in a film, as he trots across the stage, backed by gentle guitar music, he is a showman… and an accomplished one too. Technical elements are seamless, and anchor Olesker to the stage, giving him this sharp style. This man knows where he stands, and with perhaps some more improvisation to his style, this piece would feel a lot more engaging. His script is as slick as his clear storytelling, explaining the nitty gritty and never skipping a beat. I did feel invited into a secret, which is always proof of success in this genre.
This genre is a little overcrowded, however, and does Olesker cut through? I’m not entirely sure.
Max Olesker: Making the cut has finished its run at Fringe 2026.
Image by Johnny Ruff.
