Rachel Berger

Rachel Berger is an Australian comedian, actress, and writer. Berger was born in Israel to Polish Jewish parents and emigrated to Melbourne at the age of five. She is a "performer who delivers rapid-fire lines with assertive and acerbic virtuosity," who has made her name as a stand-up comedian, staging "confronting and politically incorrect" productions including Perfect, Clenched Buttocks, Loose Cannon, The She Comic, Comedy Siren, and Berger Republic. In 2008, Berger wrote and performed Hold the Pickle. A major departure from her previous work, Hold the Pickle is a monologue that traces her parents' flight from Nazi-occupied Poland to Israel during the Second World War, to running a delicatessen in Acland Street, St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb. In 2008, Hold the Pickle was nominated for three Green Room Awards: Best Female Performer in an Independent Theatre Production, New Writing for the Australian Stage, and Lighting Design.