Stian the lounge comedian

Stian hands Olli a slip of paper and then runs off-stage to perform a quick costume change.

A microphone on a stand and a side table with an ashtray are brought onto stage, and the image on the in-studio screen is changed to a red curtain with a spotlight on it.

Olli uses the microphone to introduce Stian, reading directly off of the instructions he had been given, “Get ready for dry jokes with jazz music.”

Stian emerges on stage, dressed in a coat and tails reminiscent of old lounge singers, holding a glass of whisky and a lit cigarette.

His material consists mainly of puns. For example, he says that a sperm bank had called him with “sæd news” (pronounced like ‘sad’, this word literally means ‘sperm’). He also dusts off the old classic, “I saw a kid with boxing gloves, and wondered why he was wearing them. Then it hit me.”

Stian runs out of time before he can deliver his final joke, but Atle allows him to tell it, with the understanding that it won’t count as part of his performance. It is also arguably Stian’s best joke, which is unfortunate: “I got caught jerking off at work the other day. It was embarrassing to go back to work the next day, because I met the guy I jerked off.”

23.7% of the audience vote goes to Stian, and so he earns second place.

(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by David Fuller)