Review by Steve Bennett

The slightly Gothy-looking Dag Soras comes from the bleak north of Norway, and he has the disposition to match the unforgiving climate, with a jet-black set that touches all the keystones of bad-boy comedy: abortion, midgets, porn, drinking heavily…

At times, this can seem like he’s just going through the checklist, making sure he’s got all the usual bases of offensive covered, but his grim nihilism brings a crucial sense of authenticity to his dark attitude. For every nasty-for-nasty’s sake line delivered through his alcoholic Haze comes a moment of grim reality.

There are some good routines here, most notably his stand-out routine about masturbating in the presence of his dog. But he openly frets that he’s used his killer material too soon, and for the rest of the set struggles to regain momentum, not helped by his constant drawing attention to the fact.

Some of these other routines are underpowered, most notably on atheism, which is fast becoming an unadventurous route for comedians. The primitive, irrational belief in higher powers is so easy to mock that it’s not edgy – in fact, in most comedy audiences nowadays, delivering such material is preaching to the (un)converted, and needs an extra twist to stand out.

But there are also plenty of brutally funny lines in his set which, if focussed, could make him a quite a force in sick comedy. Soras is increasingly making trips to these shores, so the development of his English-language set is likely to prove interesting.

Review date: 15 Nov 2009
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Casino at The Empire