BIG IN SWEDEN

The Age

Saturday April 3, 2010

ANNABEL ROSS

Carl-Einar Hackner; Swiss Club, 89 Flinders Lane, 8.15pm Tue-Sat, Sun 5.30pm $21-$24. 4/5 CARL-EINAR Hackner commands attention. A long-haired Swede, resplendent in flared trousers, his wild-eyed appearance is enough to invoke giggles before he utters a word.Five minutes into his non-sequitur storm of song, dance, magic and absurd poetry, you'll be thanking your stars you used the bathroom before theshow.Pulling a never-ending stream of gags from an Ikea box, Hackner turns props into objects of hilarity, aided in no small part by his ridiculous, thickly accented commentary.His illusory skills are not without merit, but half the fun is watching his fudged attempts to land tricks €” delivered in frenetic succession and punctated with disco interludes and audience singalongs. There's even a bit of ABBA.It's nonsensical (expletive-free) mirth from beginning to end.

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