Last night’s gig at Berggren’s was the best yet. A strong line up with none other than Sweden’s own Godfather of comedy Thomas Oredsson as headliner. The gig had been moved indoors after a full day of rain and typically by the time the first act was on, the clouds had melted away for a perfect summer’s evening. Even though the blues skies were teasing us through the window, the atmosphere inside was great with a full house of happy punters.
I have heard so much about Thomas since I started performing in Sweden, but until last night I had never met him. There are a whole group of comics who describe him variously as their mentor, teacher, joke doctor or guru. As a rule I tend not to believe the hype and reserve judgement until I actually meet. Thankfully, Thomas lived up to his reputation.
He was not only genuinely warm and approachable offstage, full of experience and anecdotes, but onstage he was phenomenal. In his act, he was getting laughs every 20 seconds or so, and not just laughs, but full bodied belly laughs that rolled through the audience in waves. Part of his act was about accents and dialects and although my Swedish is not good enough to pick up the references and slang, it was a great opportunity to study the audience and listen to the rhythm and timing of his delivery.
I was also happy with my set which I had tried to streamline a bit, so I cut a lot of the interactive stuff that I like to do when there are less comedians on the bill and I have a freer hand with time. I did however try out a new joke, which I wrote on the bus to Motala. On the bus I thought I had struck upon the funniest routine ever which involved comparing Ingmar Bergman with Marcel Marceau. When I started the gag, I asked the audience if they knew who Marcel Marceau was…every face stared back at me blankly and the joke was met (quite aptly, considering) with silence.
Motala24.se were there to take some pictures which can be seen here
