Comedy Festival 2018: Ari Eldjárn a breath of fresh air in Pardon My Icelandic ★★★★½

NORDIC comedy comes to Melbourne in Ari Eldjárn’s hilariously fresh and fun show. Forget Scandi noir. This is Scandi hah ha.

BACK in the day, the ‘International’ in ‘Melbourne International Comedy Festival’ extended to perhaps a handful of British and American comics.

Check the festival guide in 2018 and you’ll see funny men and women descending upon Melbourne in droves from every corner of the globe.

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Ari Eldjárn is a comedian from far-flung Iceland. You know, Iceland: Bjork, volcanoes, Vikings, snow.

And apparently, excellent stand-up comedy.

Ari Eldjarn in Pardon My Icelandic.

This show from most likely the first Icelandic comedian to perform at the MICF is more than a mere curiosity. It turns out to be an absolute joy.

Even without the jokes, it’s fascinating to not only listen to an Icelander, but hear his take on his fellow countrymen. Disorganised. Desperate for attention. They look down their noses at Faroe Islanders. Who knew?

Then there’s Eldjárn’s observations on the stereotypical representations of Iceland’s larger, more populous Nordic neighbours. Drunken Finns, unintelligible Danes, rich Norwegians. Just the material alone on the complex relationship between Danes and Icelanders could fill an hour.

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An hour of comedy, I hasten to add. This is rare comic territory. Sure, Eldjárn’s cornered a pretty niche market. It’s not like he’s elbowing a dozen other Icelandic comics out of the way for your ticket money. But this guy’s worldview, his jokes, feel as fresh as mountain air.

Iceland occasionally makes the news in Australia. Remember Iceland’s giant-killing run at the Euro 2016 soccer championships? The 2010 volcanic eruption that disrupted global air traffic? The economic difficulties Iceland’s banks ran into during the GFC? Eldjárn’s got a joke for every occasion.

Ari Eldjárn’s worldview, his jokes, feel as fresh as mountain air in Pardon My Icelandic.

There are also great gags that don’t specifically reference the comic’s homeland too. A bit about the comic’s four-year-old daughter acting like a capricious Game of Thrones-style monarch is a piece of perfection. In Eldjárn’s hands, even material on that most hackneyed of topics, airline travel, feels fresh and funny.

Eldjárn’s craft has been honed over years of performing and it shows. On his first visit to the Comedy Festival, I can’t recommend this hugely enjoyable show highly enough.

Ari Eldjárn, Pardon My Icelandic

Greek Centre, corner Lonsdale and Russell sts, Melbourne until April 22.

comedyfestival.com.au