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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Heard the one about the invasion of the Danish comedians? | Heard the one about the invasion of the Danish comedians? |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Think of a Danish comedian. No, not Sandi Toksvig – another one. Stumped? Don't worry, that's all about to change. | Think of a Danish comedian. No, not Sandi Toksvig – another one. Stumped? Don't worry, that's all about to change. |
| Hot on the heels of detective thrillers and political dramas, the Danish jokers are coming. Danish standup Sofie Hagen has paved the way, making a name for herself as a finalist in the Funny Women Awards 2012 and moving to London, where she now performs six nights a week. | Hot on the heels of detective thrillers and political dramas, the Danish jokers are coming. Danish standup Sofie Hagen has paved the way, making a name for herself as a finalist in the Funny Women Awards 2012 and moving to London, where she now performs six nights a week. |
| "Chubby chaser – that's a phrase you guys have here?" she asked a nervous crowd at a recent gig. "Thank you. That's nice. But there's really no need for a chase: I don't run." Hagen, 24, is a self-professed "fat comic" who says: "I don't want to come across as too preachy but for me, comedy has to have some kind of message." | "Chubby chaser – that's a phrase you guys have here?" she asked a nervous crowd at a recent gig. "Thank you. That's nice. But there's really no need for a chase: I don't run." Hagen, 24, is a self-professed "fat comic" who says: "I don't want to come across as too preachy but for me, comedy has to have some kind of message." |
| Hers is that you don't have to look like everyone else to be happy. "I had a spell of depression when I was about 14 and wasn't comfortable in my own body – I would just sit in a dark room feeling sad. Then one day I saw stand-up on TV and laughing made me feel better. My motivation now is to be the kind of comedian that my 14-year-old-self would have been inspired by, saying 'it's all right to be you'. That that's OK." | Hers is that you don't have to look like everyone else to be happy. "I had a spell of depression when I was about 14 and wasn't comfortable in my own body – I would just sit in a dark room feeling sad. Then one day I saw stand-up on TV and laughing made me feel better. My motivation now is to be the kind of comedian that my 14-year-old-self would have been inspired by, saying 'it's all right to be you'. That that's OK." |
| Living in London allows Hagen to spread her message further than she could back home. "There's one comedy club and one management company in Denmark," she says. "In the UK there are hundreds, as well as open mic nights and lots more festivals. It's an exciting place to be." | Living in London allows Hagen to spread her message further than she could back home. "There's one comedy club and one management company in Denmark," she says. "In the UK there are hundreds, as well as open mic nights and lots more festivals. It's an exciting place to be." |
| She is not alone in coming to London. At the Leicester Comedy Festival last week, two shows consisted solely of standups from Denmark, including Hagen, Valdemar Pustelnik, Mikkel Malmberg and Simon Talbot. | She is not alone in coming to London. At the Leicester Comedy Festival last week, two shows consisted solely of standups from Denmark, including Hagen, Valdemar Pustelnik, Mikkel Malmberg and Simon Talbot. |
| Despite his non-Nordic sounding name, Copenhagen-based Talbot is one of the biggest standups in Denmark, winner of television show Comedy Fight Club and star of other shows such as Where the Hell is Herning? and Bingo Banko (the true hilarity of which may have been lost in translation). "He's very, very famous," says Hagen. | Despite his non-Nordic sounding name, Copenhagen-based Talbot is one of the biggest standups in Denmark, winner of television show Comedy Fight Club and star of other shows such as Where the Hell is Herning? and Bingo Banko (the true hilarity of which may have been lost in translation). "He's very, very famous," says Hagen. |
| With an Irish father and a Danish mother, Talbot, 26, speaks in a soft trans-cultural burr as he explains the appeal of starting from scratch to build up a UK following: "It's a challenge. Some parts of my act don't work so well there, like the physical comedy, but I just tweak things a little. British standup is about 20 years ahead of scene in Denmark." | With an Irish father and a Danish mother, Talbot, 26, speaks in a soft trans-cultural burr as he explains the appeal of starting from scratch to build up a UK following: "It's a challenge. Some parts of my act don't work so well there, like the physical comedy, but I just tweak things a little. British standup is about 20 years ahead of scene in Denmark." |
| Danish standup has been popular since the 1990s, when comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen took a trip to the US and were blown away by the New York club scene. Recreating this in a country of just 5m people was always going to be challenging. | Danish standup has been popular since the 1990s, when comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen took a trip to the US and were blown away by the New York club scene. Recreating this in a country of just 5m people was always going to be challenging. |
| The Danish comedy circuit can be claustrophobic and the work isn't plentiful: "There are only about 20-30 full-time comics in Denmark," says Talbot. "If you're a dick to anyone, you're not going to get far." Malmberg, 26, says: "If you want to make a living from comedy in Denmark, you have to do corporate gigs as well – performing to people who are having dinner and don't want you interrupting." | The Danish comedy circuit can be claustrophobic and the work isn't plentiful: "There are only about 20-30 full-time comics in Denmark," says Talbot. "If you're a dick to anyone, you're not going to get far." Malmberg, 26, says: "If you want to make a living from comedy in Denmark, you have to do corporate gigs as well – performing to people who are having dinner and don't want you interrupting." |
| There's the odd TV slot – Malberg has been on Comedy Fight Club and Stand-up.dk – but many comedians are now starting to do routines in English in the hope of crossing over to the UK. Malberg is working towards gigs in London and a trip to Edinburgh, and fellow Leicester Festival comedian Pustelnik, 29, now spends a week a month in London for work. | There's the odd TV slot – Malberg has been on Comedy Fight Club and Stand-up.dk – but many comedians are now starting to do routines in English in the hope of crossing over to the UK. Malberg is working towards gigs in London and a trip to Edinburgh, and fellow Leicester Festival comedian Pustelnik, 29, now spends a week a month in London for work. |
| "The Danish sense of humour is a lot like it is in the UK," says Hagen. "Both can be quite dark and gloomy – so I think they like us. At least, I hope they do. I don't want to go home any time soon." | "The Danish sense of humour is a lot like it is in the UK," says Hagen. "Both can be quite dark and gloomy – so I think they like us. At least, I hope they do. I don't want to go home any time soon." |
| Those Danish pleasantries: | Those Danish pleasantries: |
| @mikker | @mikker |
| "Packing your bags at the grocery store gets much more fun if you hum the melody from Tetris." | "Packing your bags at the grocery store gets much more fun if you hum the melody from Tetris." |
| "The problem with hide-and-seek is that if you get too good at it, you're gone forever." | "The problem with hide-and-seek is that if you get too good at it, you're gone forever." |
| @SofieHagen | @SofieHagen |
| "People who put potato chips in a bowl before they eat them: they have too much time on their hands." | "People who put potato chips in a bowl before they eat them: they have too much time on their hands." |
| "Here in Streatham we play a game called "Is it fireworks or are they shooting at us?" and then we run." | "Here in Streatham we play a game called "Is it fireworks or are they shooting at us?" and then we run." |
| "You know what else says more than a thousand words? A thousand and one words." | "You know what else says more than a thousand words? A thousand and one words." |
| "It's insane - when you're in a bar drinking whisky alone in a corner, people look at you like you're in a bar drinking whisky alone in a corner." | "It's insane - when you're in a bar drinking whisky alone in a corner, people look at you like you're in a bar drinking whisky alone in a corner." |
| @SimonTalbot2 | @SimonTalbot2 |
| "My dad called me from hospital: 'I fell off a ladder. I was drunk and I was trying to get some apples'. 'Pops, you have to get your act together!' He said: 'You're right, son. I'm quitting fruit'." | "My dad called me from hospital: 'I fell off a ladder. I was drunk and I was trying to get some apples'. 'Pops, you have to get your act together!' He said: 'You're right, son. I'm quitting fruit'." |
| "I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness but I quit when I started thinking. My mother still tries to convert me, sneaking pamphlets into my bag whenever I visit. I don't do that to her - pop The Origin of Species and a pack of condoms on her bedside table…" | "I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness but I quit when I started thinking. My mother still tries to convert me, sneaking pamphlets into my bag whenever I visit. I don't do that to her - pop The Origin of Species and a pack of condoms on her bedside table…" |
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