Big In Sweden: Carl-Einar Hackner

 I didn’t know what to make of Swedish comedic “mega-star” Carl-Einar Hackner. It wasn’t until we were presented with a whole banana being folded in half that I really got into the swing of this show.

  Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2010 Venue: Swiss Club  Wednesday 31 March, 2010 I didn’t know what to make of Swedish comedic “mega-star” Carl-Einar Hackner. I spent the first 15 minutes of his show in a state of utter confusion, and with the occasional giggle thrown in I wondered just exactly where he was going to steer his 2010 creation Big In Sweden. It wasn’t until we were presented with a whole banana being folded in half that I really got into the swing of this show. Hackner hams up the whole being-Swedish thing, as you would expect. The IKEA, ABBA and ice hockey jokes are pulled out promptly amongst a trilogy of comedic, musical and B-grade magic trick segments. I acknowledge Hackner definitely has a broad range of talent – with him being an alumni of the Famous Spiegeltent’s favourite show, La Clique, I expected no less. But the structure of Big In Sweden could be improved immensely. I understand that completely shambolic, disorganised slapstick-type stage work can be hilarious, and at times Hackner carries this well, but it wears thin and I spent the better part of this hour confused and bewildered at this intensely random piece of theatre.  Hackner relies a lot on props, and some of his tricks/segments are truly original and funny. There aren’t many people out there who can fit an entire mouth organ inside their mouth – and play it properly. But moving promptly from that trick to a lament about how much time he spends on his couch in front of daytime TV just didn’t flow well for me.  So if you don’t mind a complete lack of narrative / explanation behind a performance, then you’ll certainly get a good laugh form Hackner’s talents. After all, he is big in Sweden – but that just goes to show how utterly bizarre the Swedish sense of humour is.  Bookings: www.comedyfestival.com.au Until 18 April, 2010