Review: THOR STENHAUG: ONE NIGHT STAND BABY, Soho Theatre

“I’m going to tell you a story about my family”

Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby has quite the simple concept - the title basically says it all. Thor Stenhaug, a Norwegian comedian living in the UK, is the result of a one-night stand between his mother and father, who met when his mother was a student and his father was in the Army. The show explores Stenhaug’s past, from when he was a child whose parents led separate lives to his adult life in London, exploring the world of dating in the UK. 

Stenhaug views his life like a sitcom, one of the many that he grew up watching. He lives with his friends - a Frenchman and a Scouser - in a small flat, learning about the London way of life and the strangely vague perspective they have on time. His housemate from Liverpool is one of the people teaching him how to do a British accent, which has some interesting results. There’s a hilarious comparison between life in the UK versus life in a Norwegian prison - it’s up to the audience to decide which one they prefer! Ever since he was a child, Stenhaug has dreamed of living in London, going so far as to search up the Street View on Google Earth and walking through the city’s streets, so he feels he is truly living the dream.

The audience learns about Stenhaug’s childhood, which he paints as a lovely time going between the families of his mother and father, both of whom have married (and divorced) other people. He tells the audience about his experiences travelling from his mother’s house to his father’s a few hours away in a DHL truck - who said you shouldn’t travel with a stranger in a van as a child? And he’s not the only one in his family that’s the result of a one-night stand. According to Stenhaug, he comes from “a long line of slags” (said with all the love in the world), with his 92-year-old grandmother also having come from the same situation. 

There is a surprisingly hilarious bit about how there was a chance that Stenhaug may not have even been born, leading to him feeling a bond with other children born from one-night stands, saying, “Most of us don’t make it out!” It’s the riskiest joke in the show, and Stenhaug is easily able to pull it off, shrugging at the gasps of shock and moving on with his set. Indeed, Stenhaug does a solid job of working with the audience, from gently confronting a group of drunk Norwegian girls to fist-bumping a man in the audience every time he makes a sexual joke, asking, “Am I right, brother?”

Another highlight of the show comes from Stenhaug discussing his dating life, with the comedian telling the audience about his girlfriend, Daisy, and his experiences with her family. Stenhaug recalls the time they took a trip to Center Parcs together, as well as an interesting conversation he has with Daisy’s parents, two devoted Christians who question him about his own family. There are also some funny dating stories, including a particularly hilarious one about a life drawing class!

Ultimately, Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby is a heartfelt hour of comedy that’s all sugar with a splash of spice. It’s rare to see a comedy show these days that simply celebrates life with no real “dark” moment at the forty-minute mark, but Stenhaug does it with ease, grinning the whole way through. The slides are used effectively at the end of the show, but using them throughout could have been a bit more effective. It’s an impressive debut hour, however, and one can only expect Stenhaug to improve over time!