Sami Shah – Sacrificing The Goat

We’re in a new age of the 'Comedy Show', slipping away from the laugh-a-minute days of old towards nuanced performances of tragedy and suffering. It’s an exciting turn for stand-up, and while there have been massive triumphs in the field, sometimes it doesn’t completely work.

While Sacrificing The Goat is not endlessly funny, it is certainly endlessly fascinating. The tale of a third-world immigrant learning of the differences in societies is hardly breaking new ground, but what Sami Shah does with the material is rather special. In fact, the comic focuses not on the differences between the places he has called home, but the harrowing similarities.

Shah sees the world in a way that only few can. His story, while unfortunately rather common, offers him a unique understanding on the way we humans operate. More often than not, the tools at the disposal of his wildly different oppressors are one and the same. Shah has been on the receiving end of threats from talkback radio fans, white nationalists, religious fanatics and even ISIS. However, these experiences have had more in common than one may initially perceive, as the stand-up tells of the cyclical nature of subjugation and persecution. It’s a difficult thing to hear at times, but Shah expertly reiterates how, at the end of the day, the people at the top are the only ones who benefit from these actions by the few.

Unfortunately, while Sacrificing The Goat is an enthralling and captivating story from a master of the craft, it simply feels out of place at MICF. There are jokes, but it never really crosses over to that newfound style of comedy show. Instead, it comes off as a one-man story of hardship in the limelight, and the aftermath of having a voice. It’s oftentimes sad and confronting, but it’s also undoubtedly compelling.