Review

REVIEW: Ari Eldjárn: Eagle Fire Iron – 4½*

REVIEW: Ari Eldjárn: Eagle Fire Iron – 4½*

Radio Ha-Ha! talks Ha-Ha!

Written by Sarah Exton

Review date: 7th October 2019

I went into Ari Eldjárn’s show having no idea what to expect and boy was I happily surprised. Even if, like me, you didn’t know Ari, throughout the show you quickly learn that he is a comic with an rolodex of stories to tell.

Opening the show by explaining his name and it’s relation to the show title, Ari continues on to disperse pockets of wordplay with different languages such as Icelandic, German and Swedish. On the rare occasion where things aren’t translated, you still get the jist of what is happening from Ari’s hilarious delivery. This show perfectly displays how well traveled and seasoned Ari is, and how this has enriched his performance style.

Trying to pick a favourite moment is too difficult because I enjoyed every second of it. One of the things that Ari does incredibly well is, despite coming from one of the most progressive countries in the world, Ari depicts the Icelandic people as simple-folk, however never in a patronising or derogative way. Whether it’s deciding how they elect the next President, Ari’s experience taking part in State visits meeting the King of Sweden, airport security or even Icelandic rap-culture; the observational chat is remarkably simple and yet incredibly entertaining.

Another refreshing quality is how clean the performance is. Numerous comics swear in their shows (which I don’t mind) and use swearing as a device to add more oomf to their punchline or create an element of shock – but Ari doesn’t need to use this at all. His slick, affable and uncynical good nature is all he needs to get the crowd laughing.

Catch Ari Eldjárn’s show ‘Eagle Fire Iron’ on at Soho Theatre, every day until the 12th October at 9:15pm. Grab you tickets here: https://sohotheatre.com/shows/ari-eldjarn-eagle-fire-iron/

Radio Ha-Ha

October 10th, 2019

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