Stand up
Magnus Betnér and Nisse Hallberg
“Burning down the house”
Stage: Årsta Folkets hus, Stockholm. Tour premiere. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes.
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That a considerable amount of people are standing and stomping on Årsta torg on a gray cold winter evening to say the least is a reminder of one of the kingdom’s longest and most faithful cultural works. For a quarter of a century, Magnus Betnér has made this very scene repeat itself in almost every Swedish place that could boast a stage, a People’s House, a pub, pizzeria, or lunchroom. This time – which one in order? – he selflessly brings with him another new radar partner, Nisse Hallberg. After the premiere’s double performance in Årsta, they will visit something like 60 locations on their spring tour. Some of which are very small.
Once inside the heat, we can state that nothing has happened. Except with the content itself then. Betnér goes out first and once again in no time winds up himself and the audience in a flow that is as newly written as it is familiar, from cynical daily politics to the daily worries of an ADHD-diagnosed person. He does not need to update the form, he has set it for a long time, and the attention in the slightly worn brick-clad room is fully focused on the words.
It is a kind of educational missionary disguised as how Betnér, completely uninterested in drugs, managed to become a miniature drug courier. But he has probably become more cheerful over the years, more relatable, to more people. It is significant that former Minister of the Interior (S) Anders Ygeman is in the audience tonight and not representatives of today’s government. With his throwing the ladle at, for example, a sitting prime minister, they would not have felt so well here anyway. B. Betnér is, as usual, simple, and there seems to be no further limit to his topicality.
How he manages to appear at once learned and ignorant slob is a mystery. Maybe even for himself
Boundaries, Nisse Hallberg completely misses them. His unique blend of casualness, as if he had walked straight off the couch on a hungover afternoon, and sophisticated performance has evolved yet another notch. How he manages to appear at once learned and ignorant slob is a mystery. Maybe even for himself. In any case, it will be a terribly good stand-up. He leads us between graphic descriptions of the degrading aspects of IVF treatments and useless sobriety.
If Betnér’s role is to make one or the other think, it is Hallberg’s to make us lose our breath as we are guided deeper and deeper into our dark interior. Equal parts laughter and horror. He even forbids us to applaud: “Stop, that’s disgusting!”
It will be a successful humor double, to say the least. And if the state should have a gold watch for long and faithful cultural service, Betnér has the wrist.
Read more texts by Niklas Wahllöf.
