Sofie Hagen @ Monkey Barrel Comedy
Sofie Hagen's glorious return to the Fringe is a self-aware, fresh and extremely funny look at the modern left
“I don’t care if Greta Thunberg is secretly eating McDonald's chicken nuggets in a Tesla!” exclaims Sofie Hagen as she grapples with the current state of the left-wing. If that seems like an outlandish statement, you clearly haven’t seen Hagen's new show yet; if you had, you’d probably be in agreement.
I Think Some of This Is My Fault is an intelligent hour that gives a fresh and much-needed perspective on the state of the political left. Hagen begins by speaking about a well-loved local mayor in Denmark, a left-wing visionary who had big dreams, but there was a catch. Without giving too much away, this ‘catch’ is what the show teeters on: our inability to be perfect in our politics. Us lefties don’t always admit to our foibles, and we’re not always the funnest bunch – “the right wing even have hats!!” she cries out. Hagen argues that perhaps it’s time we cut ourselves some slack.
Going on to speak about her career as a stand-up comedian/recovering keyboard warrior, Hagen provides hilarious takes on her journey to becoming a slightly-less-woke version of herself. After all, she did once think that tweeting “cancer research are a bunch of c**ts” made her an activist. She did in fact get cancelled by both the right and the left for this. Reflecting on it now, she squirms, joking that she may as well take down some other charities while she’s at it: “Doctors without Borders… uhh… ever heard of boundaries?!”
Hagen is a hysterical storyteller and deeply interesting thinker whose self-awareness is both inspiring and a bit of an eye-opener, forcing you to look inwards. Not once does her enigmatic performance verge on preachy – the joke is on her, and if you can relate... well, that’s on you. Leaving audience members feeling mesmerized, her wry take on the left (as a very left-wing person) is a perspective we desperately need in current times. It’s about time we took a look at ourselves and were a bit nicer to each other, and most importantly, as Hagen concludes, were “A BIT NICER TO ME!”
Sofie Hagen: I Think Some of This is My Fault, Monkey Barrel Comedy (MB1), until 30 Aug (not 17, 24), 3.20pm, £15.50/£13.50