Icelandic comic Ari Eldjarn is making waves on the UK comedy scene. When he played the Soho Theatre last year he received the kind of ecstatic response usually reserved for pop stars and the Pope. The slick, smart, former Icelandair flight attendant only had to do a deadpan Norwegian accent to get the front row convulsing in hysterics. But there is much more to Eldjarn than Scandi in-jokes. He is a top quality observational comedian (perfect English of course) mixing a lot of universal material peppered with some neat fish-out-of-water wit. On moving to Camden Town when he was 24 he heard the cry of "skunk, weed, ganja" so often he thought it was a greeting. He soon had to get to grips with our crazy English drinking rules such as buying rounds: "Why? Is it someone's birthday?" Trust me, you really don't have to be Icelandic to enjoy him.
1. What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth)?
I have an incredibly mundane routine where I get some water ready, put my phone on do not disturb, turn the voice recorder on and start the timer. I think I have developed this check list to take my mind off the fight and flight responses that are naturally activated when speaking publically. This is my way to drown them out. Kill them with boredom.
2. What irritates you?
The fact that it takes me such a long time to come up with new material and that it’s always worse than my old material. By the time my new material is finally good it’s become old and my new material is even worse. I wish I could just write old material.
3. What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
I once stood in the extended shovel of a hydraulic excevator, on the edge of a mountain. The only support was a steep path carved by the machine itself, which could have crumbled at any given moment. Not exactly base jumping but way more stupid as it didn’t even look that dangerous!
4. What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
Once I had to temporarily take steroid tablets after losing my voice during a particularly gig-heavy week. I lost my prescribed tablets immediately. After finding them in my parents’ kitchen I downed six tablets only to discover that those tablets actually belonged to the family dog. Luckily they were identical to mine so were no adverse effects but after this I always read the description thoroughly. Next time I might not be so lucky with dog pills.
5. What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
The fact that I got such a fast start in Iceland. I did one gig with my friends as a dare in 2009 and half a year later I was doing stand-up full-time. It’s really weird because I am by nature fairly easily put off and cautious. I’m convinced that if I had not gotten such a good reception so early I would have quit immediately.
Interview continues here.
