When I reviewed Dagfinn Lyngbø’s previous solo performance “The Colonization of Mars” in 2020, I stated that little had changed in his 27 years as a stand-up comedian. Now I can state that the same applies after 31. The feeling I got when I re-read my own four-year-old review ahead of the premiere of “Folk” is thus quite telling: Lyngbø has parked the wheelbarrow for a long time, and both he and the people thrive on it. The legendary Bergen native made his debut in 1993, and throughout the 90s and 2000s became a pioneer in Norwegian standup. He won award after award and has made a remarkable contribution to humor in this country, all credit to him for that. Jokes about the neighbour, colleague, mother-in-law and screen time have made him a household name – and not least given him sold-out halls across the country throughout his career. I have been obsessed with stand-up since 1999, when I saw my very first Dagfinn Lyngbø set as a twelve-year-old. In other words, I have respect for this fellow’s work. YOUNG AND PROMISING: Here from 2000, when he had just received the Stand Up Award 1999 from his fellow comedians after attracting 25,000 audiences to the show “Dagfinn Lyngbø Live – A cross is fleeing from its mother”. Photo: NTB Musical break The 51-year-old’s premiere at Latter opens with a quick introduction of sidekick Bjarte Jørgensen, dressed for the occasion as a kind of Paul Shaffer to Lyngbø’s Dave Letterman. The one-man orchestra Jørgensen will be a sparring partner for the main character during the song numbers that appear here and there. These musical elements should act as a diversion from the monologue-driven cavalcade of jokes, and they do that well. The numbers are a bit strained, but Bjarte Jørgensen is a welcome and skilled counterpart when a slightly advanced piece of text needs an additional actor. Dad humor’s standstill The opening number is such a feature, if you can call the step-uncle-who-rappers-on-a-beat-from-1989 a song number. Anyway, the people aren’t here just to see MC Daggy Lyng – they’re primarily looking for professional dad humor. SHAFFER AND LETTERMAN: news’s reviewer compares Dagfinn Lyngbø’s use of Bjarte Jørgensen (behind the drum kit) with talk show host David Letterman and his sidekick Paul Shaffer. Photo: Aksel Xavier Rustad As an arrogant critic, it can be easy to forget that there are a lot of dads out there, and with them there are often a lot of people who love dad humor. Dad humor is just as legitimate and commonplace as all other humor, but it too must have developed over the last 30 years, right? “Folk” is a performance that is supposed to, yes, you guessed it, take people to heart. Taking people at face value is a golden rule in standup that Lyngbø at one point or another both found and perfected. Because here, as in 1993, the format is simple: joke, joke, joke, musical number, joke, joke, joke. If you recognize yourself, the comedian has succeeded. Then suddenly the title “Folk” and common thread and such trifles will not be so careful, no one will leave the hall and think “…it was just a lot of random jokes?” Clearly inspired by Seinfeld and “Friends”, the standup legend brings out the well-known and completely harmless observations about boring small talk with colleagues, FAU meetings, shaman Durek and outdoor life. You should never be close to feeling anything, he just wants you to laugh. It’s a bit like throwing a grandis in the oven when you’re hungry. It doesn’t taste like much, but you’ll be full. And grandis has tasted the same since 1982, so why not? “FOLK”: The performance “Folk” is about taking people to task, but Dagfinn Lyngbø always does that, according to news’s reviewer. Photo: Aksel Xavier Rustad Another good example of Lyngbø’s slow development is a couple of jokes that are heavily inspired by the 90s comedies “Seinfeld” and “Friends”. A joke about serial killers’ neighbors has an almost identical setup to Jerry Seinfeld’s opening number in the 1993 episode “The Masseuse”, while a joke about complicated board games is very close to the fictional game show “Bamboozle” in the “Friends” episode “The One With the Baby Shower” from 2002. In Lyngbø’s edition, at least “Bamboozled” has been replaced with “Gogobo”. On top of it all, during a sequence about mobile scrolling on the bed, the audience is presented with some 15-year-old memes that you have to be at least 40 to catch. But! There’s nothing wrong with turning 40, and there’s nothing wrong with loving dad humor. Dagfinn Lyngbø is still one of Norwegian humor’s very best comedians in terms of technique and delivery, and the text hits exactly those it is meant to hit. news reviews By and with: Dagfinn Lyngbø Musician: Bjarte Jørgensen Director: Vemund Vik Producer: Elina Krantz/Stand Up Norway Sound design: Kjetil Husøy Lighting design: Stein Phillips AV design: Joachim Barrum Music production: Bjarte Jørgensen Time: Premiere at Latter 30 October 2024, premiere in Bergen 23 January 2025. Norwegian tour autumn 2025. Hi! I’m Espen. I am a freelancer who writes about music and humor for news. You’ll find all the latest at news.no/reviews. Published 31.10.2024, at 13.10
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“Folk” with Dagfinn Lyngbø at Latter, Oslo – Reviews and recommendations
