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.
