Car chases, fan fiction and Westlife are all stories that Danish comedian Sofie Hagen brings to her set with a bubbly personality and fills the room with life with tales of the best thing that ever happened to her
Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap is a charming addition to the Free Fringe
Though her repertoire does include the standard sex jokes and relationship dramas, this isn’t the forefront of her performance, instead referencing back to her childhood experiences and mocking the naivety of her younger self. This heavily plays on her competitiveness and love, or rather obsession, of Westlife, in a set that for the majority is well structured and cleverly delivered. There are periods of time where there are just chuckles and smiles, but she does build towards a climax in her stories that make the wait worth it. She does venture into some darker territories on some more personal subjects where laughter becomes a little sparse, but she quickly comforts her audience into laughing because that is what she does.
Underneath it all though, there is a serious message, one that often or not gets warped by the loose structure of her set. There are moments when she takes a break from drawing off laughs and talks about the objectification of women, how they are programmed to judge based on looks and how that is what society tells them is winning. It’s nothing new in a feminist comedian to talk about these issues but what she does have to say is actually quite interesting and is inspirational. Yet it’s prone to being undermined by throwing in a joke at the end. There’s an uneasy balance between the serious issues and her comedy set, and though blending the two together with such subject content may prove to be distasteful, you may pause to wonder if you are watching a stand up or a debate.
Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap is a charming addition to the Free Fringe and will offer an hour of steady laughs and interesting discussion and is ideal for a gentle afternoon of comedy.
