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Weird Shit at STOFF

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

I’ve just got back from watching some weird shit at the VIP opening of STOFF, The Stockholm Fringe Festival. Just to clarify, by ‘weird shit’ I mean a naked Mexican opera singer with a beard but no penis. Incidentally, I feel I am qualified to describe this as weird shit as I have a degree in drama – I know how to academically analyse theatre, from Grotowski to Boal… and, trust me, the opera performance definitely comes under the category ‘weird shit’.

But how cool it was to be in the thick of it. Surrounded by theatre types doing weird and wonderful performances that the audience may or may not have understood. Having spent so long in small town Linköping recently, where mainstream is the order of the day, it was such a pleasure to hang out with performers for whom profound and pretentious were words that could be found tattooed on their inner lip.

The festival goes on at Kulturhuset for the next few days and there are performers from all over the world. Go along and maybe you can check out some equally weird shit. I spoke to a group from the UK called ‘Fools Play‘ who had just graduated from E15 drama school. I don’t think their shit is the weirdest at the festival, but it sounded like a pretty good option to go and watch. Their show is called ‘Go Solo’ and they are playing at Kulturhuset’s Hörsalen at 12.30 on 26/8 and Dramalabbet at 4pm on 27/8.

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Tags: Lagom, LinkÃ¶ping, plugs, Review, Stockholm, STOFF, students, Sweden
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Tuesday to Tuesday

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

My gigs over the last seven days, Tuesday to Tuesday, couldn’t have been more different and I’ve loved them all.

First off, a week ago, I was asked to support Magnus Betnér in Vingåker. Betnér is one of Sweden’s biggest comedians and Vingåker is one of Sweden’s smallest small towns. The gig took place in the the old wooden cinema, which is apparently the oldest standing cinema in Sweden. I’m not sure if it’s still standing because of its historical value or because nobody has yet got round to letting the people of Vingåker in on all the wonders of the 21st Century. The cinema is run by the local Temperance Society, which meant we had all the orangeade and sparkling water we could handle. Backstage was freezing cold and the food was from the local kebab shop. Glamorous? No. But this was one of the best gigs I have done. The size of the town meant that the audience were buzzing; and Magnus, who once lived in the town, had the audience hanging on his every word. The backstage atmosphere added to the camaraderie and even the guys from the Temperance Society were nice blokes. The secret behind Vingåker’s club is a young guy called Henrik Källman who has a passion for stand up. The night was reviewed here.

Thursday night was the regular club night at Café M. I hadn’t really gone overboard on advertising the night as I just hadn’t had time over September. However, it seems that the club has finally made an impact on the cultural subconscious of Linköping as there was standing room only by quarter to seven. By five-to we had to stop letting people in. The show was pretty good too with all the comedians delivering great sets. Hopefully similiar numbers will turn up next time on the 28th October and also on Wednesday 20th when I am putting on the cult British comedian Paul Foot (link here). I’m also putting him on in Stockholm (link) on the 23rd and 24th October. (These shows are all in English)

Finally, last night was a business gig in Gothenburg in the atrium of the Radisson Blu under a piece of very strange modern art that resembled a broken umbrella. The audience, attending a conference on simulation software, were a cheerful mix of Scandinavians, French, British and at least one American. The gig was a version of my ‘crash course on Sweden’ and it went down a storm, especially with the Danes who seem to take extra pleasure in laughing at the Swedes. Compared to my night at Vingåker cinema, I was fed well and invited to join the delegates for their creme brulee and coffee. Accommodation was at the hotel where I indulged in the fantasy that I had a proper job. And no, I didn’t steal the towels, despite being tempted.

All three gigs were an adventure and I wouldn’t change a thing about any of them. Next week I’m back on the road to Gothenburg – This time to play Musikens Hus. I’ll be staying on a friend’s floor and eating kebab. I’ll be lucky if he even offers me a towel to steal.

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Tags: Betnér, Comedy, Corporate, Gigs, Gothenburg, LinkÃ¶ping, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
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Ain’t no party like a civic street party

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Yawn. Royal wedding. yawn.

I was emotionally blackmailed by my sambo and kids to head into town to see what delights Linköping had laid on for the royal tying of the royal knot. The kids had spent the morning making little silver crowns out of aluminium foil and glitter, so everything that had come within a 2 metre radius of a child glittered regally. Once the kids had worked out how to fit their crowns over their cycle helmets, we headed into town, a trail of red, green and blue glitter in our wake.

A giant stage had been erected in the corner of Storatorget and around it were little stands promoting wedding related businesses such as cake makers, chocolate makers, local car dealerships. My first impression was that there was a danger that the wedding would get in the way of the marketing. Just to give the whole thing a slightly detached atmosphere, they had decided that they would use a giant TV screen as a backdrop, broadcasting SVT’s coverage regardless of what was going on onstage. Luckily for SVT what was going on onstage was mainly a boring middle aged man with a microphone sucking all life and vitality from the day. He managed to commentate on a troupe of local cheerleaders with the effect that most of the audience were stunned into boredom and forgot to applaud their acrobatic antics.

For me the highlight was the magician. And not just a magician, but a close up magician. Picture the scene, if you will – A large stage, big enough for a decent brass section and backing singers, a moving background showing fast moving trailers for the summer season on SVT and in the middle a magician saying ‘In my left hand you will see a one krona coin’. Brilliant.

We didn’t stick around for the whole thing. We half heartedly queued up for some free giveaways from Cloetta, even though I believe using excesses of chocolate to celebrate the wedding of someone who has a history of eating disorders is in poor taste. We gave up when we realised quite how long the queue was.

I felt honoured to have seen the people of Linköping gripped in such patriotic fervour, even if most of the people in the square were there for the freebies or to catch a glimpse of that monobrowed Norwegian who won the Eurovision song contest a couple of years ago.

So what did I get from Sweden’s special day? Memories and little bits of glitter over everything I own.

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Tags: Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Royaly, Stand Up, Sweden
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Football 0 – 1 Comedy

Monday, June 14th, 2010

On Friday, I got a call from an English friend who said that he had been wrestling with his conscience and could not bring himself to miss England’s opening game against the USA, despite the fact that he really wanted to come to Saturday’s show. Well, more fool him and everyone else who decided to stay home and watch a mediocre match with no winner, marred and marked by a schoolboy goalkeeping error.

At the Sagateatern, we weren’t thinking about football, well not too much anyway. There was a decent crowd, although disappointingly nowhere near a sell out, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Other than Magnus Betnér, the support acts were Aron Flam and Lasse Nilsen. I’ve known Aron for a little while and I love his intelligent, dark, deadpan delivery. Lovely to see a comedian making people laugh without actually cracking a smile himself…. rumour has it that the requisite smile muscles have been surgically removed from Aron’s face.

Lasse’s style, on and off stage, could not be more different. He is a physical, expressive storyteller whose narratives take weird and unexpected twists along the way. Lasse leaves the stage sweating, whereas Aron is cool as ice. From my point of view, as the MC, it’s always a pleasure to introduce acts that deliver and the audience show their appreciation through peals of laughter. It’ll be interesting to see how they both go down at the Edinburgh festival. Check them out if you find yourself in Edinburgh this summer.

And then it was time for the main attraction. Magnus Betnér took the stage to massive applause. He is, after all, one of the biggest names in Swedish comedy. The purpose of this show was to give his Edinburgh hour a full run, before taking it to the UK (where he is doing more previews). The atmosphere was perhaps a little false as when he plays at the festival and at other UK venues, the crowds will be curious, unaware of his star status, probably more cynical and potentially hostile.

I think Magnus will make an impact on this year’s Edinburgh festival, because he is more than just a teller of jokes. He is shockingly honest and honestly shocked by the hypocrisies of the world. He has a razor insight into the double standards of personal, local and global politics. And above all he is driven by a need to communicate his analysis of the world in which we live. And he’s a nice bloke offstage too. His UK/Edinburgh dates are on his website.

So that’s what I did instead of watch England draw against the USA. I think I had the better Saturday night. From here on in though, it’s England all the way and the sound of the vuvuzela drone.

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Tags: Betnér, Comedy, Gigs, LinkÃ¶ping, Review, Saga, Stand Up, Sweden
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A CCCC review!

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Saturday night was showtime. Anders ‘Ankan’ Johansson, Linköping’s second most famous comedian (after Tage Danielsson) was back on home turf with the LKPG HA HA! gang in support.

I found the build up to the night quite stressful as this would be the first time Ankan had performed live in Linköping and the press had become interested. (When I say ‘the press’ I don’t include Linköpings Posten, whose editor asked ‘Who is Anders Johansson?’ …. Bear in mind Anders is so big he has an Östgötatrafiken bus named after him! Out of interest, Linköpings Posten lead this week with an article about the new manager of Biltema – That’s real news!)

The night was a success and Anders was not only a nice bloke through and through but was also brilliantly funny onstage, his act comprising of offhand observations turning banality into hilarity. His big finish was an inspired ten minutes about a battery operated, remote controlled bird he had bought from Netto – A ridiculous purchase made funnier and funnier as he added layer upon layer of humour.

Well, the night got a nice review – a CCCC in Corren. The CCCC was for the whole night and not just the headline act, which serves as a stamp of approval for all the work that I and the rest of the gang have done. Have a read, but be warned, I did a routine about how Corren’s reviewer gave Big Comedy an extra ‘C’ because Johan Rheborg took off his clothes and I was willing to do the same for a good review. For some reason they used that picture – It’s not the main pic online, but it made the front cover of the printed paper. Read the review here

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Tags: Comedy, Corren, Gigs, LinkÃ¶ping, Review, Saga, Stand Up
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Result!

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Friday night was the first night for LKPG HA HA! at Sagateatern…. and, sigh of relief, it worked.

Putting on shows is probably more stressful than performing as there are so many other balls to keep up in the air. But I love it.

I won’t wax lyrical at how bloody good the show was as the review in Corren says it all. If you read Swedish, this CCCC review is as good as it gets, if not the picture of the crowd speaks a thousand words…

Now onwards and upwards to try and sell tickets for Offroad Comedy on the 10th of April… Roll Up! Roll Up!

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Tags: Comedy, Gigs, LinkÃ¶ping, Review, Saga, Stand Up, Sweden
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If the glass slipper fits

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

I’ve just performed in a ballet. Prokofiev’s Cinderella to be precise. Picture the scene if you will, 136 dancers aged between 4 and 25, all of whom were light on their feet, dainty, proficient, elegant… and then myself, playing Cinderella’s drunk father. Luckily the part involved mostly stumbling and goofing in a tailcoat, with only the hint of a pas de deux … it was a part I was born to play. I got a nice mention in Corren’s review too, which you can read here.

It was a great experience to be in a ballet; I feel filled with moral superiority, like I’ve eaten a cultural green salad rather than populist hamburger. But it’s not all glamour… Backstage at the first performance, the entire cast was waiting in the wings for their first entrance. All ages, all sizes, the tension was tangible, nerves were in the air. I was in the wings by a group of five year olds who were playing snowflakes in the winter scene and as the music started we heard a loud SPLOSH! from behind the wing curtain. I assumed someone had knocked over a bucket of water and one of the five year olds asked me if someone had done a wee wee….. And then the smell hit us. A six year old mouse, who had tried to cope with the nerves of appearing onstage for the first time by filling herself with crisps, sweets and Coca Cola could literally not contain her nerves and vomited over a fellow mouse. There was a danger that backstage could end up like a scene from a Hieronymous Bosch painting, but the show must go on.

The performance went without a glitch (minus two mice) and the grace onstage belied the frantic mopping and nose holding behind the scenes. I enjoyed it so much, I’m going to start practising my pliés with a view to a part in the next one.

Meanwhile, I’ve been busy selling tickets for the Al Pitcher show at Sagateatern on Friday. Over half the tickets have already gone, so looks like there will be a fantastic atmosphere. If you are in Linköping, get your tickets NOW!

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Tags: Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, plugs, Press, Review, Stand Up, Sweden
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Love, Sex and Funny Business

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

A friend of mine, an up and coming Swedish comedian called Tomas Ahlbeck, has written a book. In English. Well, he co-wrote it with an English bloke, but he’s still written it in a second language. Clever bastard.

Now, what’s the point in having a blog if you can’t shamelessly promote friends’ books on the internet? At least that was the veiled implication, when he sent me a copy for Xmas. As I unwrapped it I noticed it had a very small blood stain on it… I haven’t asked Tomas whether this was deliberate or not… or what would happen to me if I didn’t plug the book here…

Last week, I had a couple of hours to kill in Copenhagen Airport, and having got the book through security, I began reading.

It’s called, ‘Love, Sex and Funny Business’, although it should be added, you don’t get these in equal measure as it leans much more to the funny business than the sex. In a nutshell, it is 100 pages of uninhibited silliness, an unexpurgated ride on a stream of absurd consciousness from the collective minds of Tomas and John.

They deliberately avoid any plot. Or is the plot in fact, the story of Tomas and John’s collaboration? Influences are worn on the sleeve: The Goons, The Mighty Boosh and comedian Paul Foot, through whom the two writers met.

If you fancy an hour or so (you are instructed to take a fika halfway through), of rough at the edges Milliganesque humour then buy this book. Available here from Lulu.

I’ll see Tomas tonight at Komikaze’s 100^th show…… maybe I should ask him about that bloodstain.

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Tags: Blogging, Comedy, plugs, Review, Stand Up, Sweden
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Pablo Francisco – Who You Foolin’?

Monday, September 28th, 2009

27th September, Konsert och Kongress, Linköping

Pablo Francisco was introduced to the stage last night as ‘The Greatest Comedian in The World’. After the understatement and irony free hour that unfolded, I am curious what the criteria for the title are.

OK. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, but then again, I am ready to acknowledge that I was in the minority in the 1200 strong crowd who had paid upwards of 400 kronor to be there. Pablo Francisco is a superstar in Sweden and it is easy to understand why. Not only is he an incredible performer, physically and vocally versatile, with an onstage energy that is astounding, but his subject matter is broad enough for the MTV watching, X-Box playing, Subway eating EuroSwede crowd to get… and even if they don’t, there are sound effects to hammer home the joke… and hammer it home he did… Perhaps it’s cultural and I come from the wrong side of the Atlantic, but it just wasn’t my thing. Personally, I cringe when a comic says ‘I love you guys’

There were some nice routines – I found his Smart Car routine very, er, smart, but it naturally boiled down to what it would be like getting a blow job in a Smart Car. This having followed routines about … James Bond having sex, why don’t X Box make Porn Hero instead of Guitar Hero, what does Jackie Chan look like having sex, what does Arnold Schwarzenegger look like having sex, phone sex, etc etc… you get the picture. In fact the subject matter of the entire show, including the support acts, can probably be summarised in the following five words: Fucking, Weed, Wanking, Chinese and Gays.

The ‘Who You Foolin’? tour is heading north and continues until the 17th October. If you’re American or a US lovin’ Swede, you’ll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, just spend some time with a hyperactive teenager instead, the experience is fairly similar.

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Tags: Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Review, Stand Up
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