NEWSLETTER
Guinness World Record Holder for Oldest Working Female Comedian in The World
July 31 at 7pm on D’yan’s 91st Birthday
New York, N.Y. - 90 year old D’yan Forest, the Guinness World Record Holder for Oldest Working Female Comedian in the World, will premiere her new solo show D’yan Forest: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water at the iconic Joe’s Pub on Thursday, July 31st at 7pm (doors open at 6pm). The evening will coincide with D’yans 91st birthday.
D’yan has performed on The Drew Barrymore Show, France’s Got Talent, and at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For the past five decades she has performed all over the world with notable performances in New York, Orlando, Chicago, Paris, London, Israel, Edinburgh and even Ethiopia. If there’s a stage, chances are she’s been on it. Critics have called D’yan everything from "saucy," "witty," and a "naughty version of Betty White."
About D’yan Forest: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water
It’s never been easy being a Jew, but after 91 years, D'yan can laugh about it. D'yan Forest, real name Diana Shulman, was born in 1934, not a great time for world Judaism. Even in Boston, a Jew could get in trouble for washing the car on a Sunday. And what should Jewish parents do if their little daughter wanted a Christmas tree? Or, worse, when she sang Christian hymns in front of her Jewish grandparents?
Even as a toddler, D'yan was making waves. She kept it up in college (no sorority wanted Jews), then in her marriage (what sensible Jewish girl divorces a lawyer?), and her career – her Jewish agent told her she looked and sounded too Jewish to get gigs, so exit the name and the nose...
It's been a long, crazy journey getting where D'yan is today – the oldest working stand-up in the world (the Guinness Book says so) – and she just loves to joke about it. Most of all, she wants to share the laughter with her audience in A Gefilte Fish Out of Water, her brand-new, hilarious show. D'yan gives us her uncensored take on being a Jew in America, with stories, songs and plenty of jokes. The world may be in a tragic place right now, but D'yan's definitely not. Tragedy? Schmadgedy! Let's laugh about it!
D’yan Forest: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water was written by Forest, Stephen Clarke (bestselling author of A Year in the Merde) and Eric Kornfeld (writer: Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On and The Rosie O'Donnell Show).
Performance takes place on Thursday, July 31 at 7pm (doors open at 6pm). Tickets are priced at $30 - https://publictheater.org/performances-jp/2025/d/d-yan-forest-a-gefilte-fish-out-of-water/
Joe’s Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place) in New York City.
About D’yan Forest:
D'yan Forest is a one-of-a-kind performer who has performed cabaret, solo shows and stand-up all over the world with notable performances in New York, Edinburgh, Paris and even Ethiopia. At 90 years old, she brings her unique perspective and vibrant personality to every performance she does whether it’s on stage or screen. Critics have called her everything from "saucy," "witty," "irrepressible," and a "naughty version of Betty White."
Notable performances include The Drew Barrymore Show, France's Got Talent, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and numerous cabaret shows at Joe’s Pub. D’yan has performed her cabaret and solo-shows includin, I Married a Nun, A Broad Abroad, Swinging on the Seine, among others, all over the world. She even did a stand-up set in Ethiopia when she traveled there before the pandemic. In 2022 she published her first memoir I Did It My Ways (available on Amazon) which follows her unconventional adventures over the last eight decades. Her writing has been featured on Huffington Post, Gay Star News and Frenchly US. She has been profiled in The New York Times, Time Out NY, New York Post, and The Guardian.
www.dyanforest.com - www.instagram.com/dyanforestwriter
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Photo: D'yan Forest performing in Paris. Photo by Christine Coquilleau.
LISTING INFO:
D’yan Forest: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water
Comedienne, cabaret artist, and living legend D'yan Forest (currently Guinness World Records Title Holder for Oldest Female Comedian in the World) returns to Joe’s Pub to celebrate her 91st birthday with an all-new show.
It’s never been easy being a Jew, but after 91 years, D'yan can laugh about it. And so will the audience, as D'yan gives us her uncensored take on being a Jew in America, with stories, songs and plenty of jokes. The world may be in a tragic place right now, but D'yan's definitely not. Tragedy? Schmadgedy! Let's laugh about it!
D'yan Forest: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water was written by D’yan Forest and Stephen Clarke (bestselling author of A Year in the Merde).
Performance takes place on Thursday, July 31 at 7pm (doors open at 6pm). Tickets are priced at $30 - https://publictheater.org/performances-jp/2025/d/d-yan-forest-a-gefilte-fish-out-of-water/
Joe’s Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place) in New York City.
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