Sofie Hagen: Banglord
Danish Sofie Hagen is one of comics who mines their own lives for material. It’s an easy way to put on a show: not much research required, no need to shoehorn everything into an overarching theme and you can always spin a funny tale into just about anything that has happened to you.
Hagen’s schtick is classic stand-up: just her on stage with nothing but a mike as she tells us about all manner of things, including her sex life. Or rather the lack thereof. This leads into an extended tale about somehow accidentally booking a sex worker when what she really wanted was a therapist to unload her sexual trauma.
Hagen on stage is warm and personable. She gets you on side quickly with her confessional vibe. The show also traverses a number of things including her complete self-acceptance of her fatness (the physical state and the word) and navigating her non-binary, queer, autistic identity.
Read: Comedy review: Nazeem Hussain: You Paid for This, various venues, MICF 2025
Sofie Hagen: Banglord will be performed at The Greek unti 20 April as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
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Pierre Novellie: Must We?
Unlike most comedians who come on stage casually dressed, Pierre Novellie rocked up formally attired in suit and tie, looking very much like the model of a dapper English gentleman –which he is – although he was born in South Africa. Indeed, he has a complicated ancestry, with his French first name, Italian surname and English accent.
Regardless of his background, Novellie was nonetheless a charmer. He was loquacious and smooth in his delivery, preferring not so much the boom tish gags but storytelling that took in the oddities and frustrations of life. His material ranged wide: from his autism-inspired need to stock up on rinse aid for his dishwasher, to shopping for jeans for his large frame to being a slave to his fiendish addiction for salt and fats. There were also thoughtful, philosophical detours and asides throughout, even an unexpected excursion into the ethics of euthanasia.
Novellie is a newcomer to MICF – his show bodes well for future visits here.
Pierre Novellie: Must We? has finished its run at the Westin. Its last show was on 20 April as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025)
