REBEL WITHOUT APPLAUSE

Is Aaron Barschak an innovative comic breathing new life into stand-up comedy or a one-hit wonder of no consequence? REBEL WITHOUT APPLAUSE is the story of Comedy Terrorist Barschak and his accidental celebrity. What began as a wedding reception gag gift in which Barshak impersonated Osama Bin Laden being held at gunpoint by "President George Bush" mushroomed into a vocation. While not particularly funny, Barschak builds a portfolio of British high-society gate-crashing and "terrorizing" fellow comics onstage while dressed as Bin Laden in drag. "It wasn't that what he said that was funny-it's that he did it at all," commented one comic. "The edges of the stage are gone with him-the joke can happen anywhere." From a Cannes Film Festival spoof on Wim Wenders to kissing Prince William at his 21st birthday party, to throwing red paint on renowned visual artist Jake Chapman, Barschak has managed to take heckling and humor to a new level--whether higher or lower becomes the question of this documentary.

How does a member of the general public survive becoming its cause celebre? Barshak's rise from mundane existence to A-list invitations and intense media scrutiny is almost too much for him. Will he survive his 15 minutes of fame without a prison sentence or alienating his Jewish family? Only Allah knows.

Michele R. Brown

Tamara Barschak began her career in film and television as a researcher and assistant producer on music and arts documentaries. She worked on projects as diverse as the history of bossa nova in 1950s Rio, a musical journey across Madagascar and the search for the giant ground sloth in uncharted areas of the Amazon basin. Her films include the shorts IN GREAT SHAPE and PENPALS and the documentary short HIGH FIDELITY.

Print Source:
Tamara Barschak, Desiderata Productions
Flat 4, 176 Walm Lane
London NW238X
UK
Tel: 00442089318084
Fax: 44.207.328.2193
Email: tamara.barschak4@ntlworld.com

Friday 6/17 at 5:30 p.m.

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