one4review | On 17, Aug 2022

This was my first time seeing Sofie Hagen live, but I’m familiar with her through her podcast work. It’s clear that she has built a devoted fan- base, demonstrated both by the camaraderie in the room and the main subject of the show; a series of voice notes from a newly obsessed fan. Including such phrases as ‘you’re not fat, you’re beautiful’, ‘you shouldn’t make jokes about yourself’ and ‘if you want to be my best friend, call me’, which are dissected throughout the show.

Fat Jokes is a brilliantly crafted hour of Jokes about some of the everyday absurdities of being a fat person in the world. With hilarious precision she tackles the mindset of ‘not seeing fatness’ and how painfully awkward we are in general around the subject. It is a masterclass in being both self deprecating and undeniably in control of the room. She deals perfectly with a heckler trying to give her a compliment about her accent with a great one liner.

Sofie Hagen loves comedy so much ‘she wants to fuck it’. That obsessiveness, as well as bringing some funny anecdotes about being a ‘gag hag’, is really palpable, you can feel her passion for comedy and it’s catching. You leave the show with a real appreciation of the art form and the feeling of having shared that with someone who is really, really good at it.

*****
Reviewed by Sarah
Monkey Barrel Comedy – Monkey Barrel 3
16.15 (1hr)
Until 28th Aug (not 24th)