Hackner is a Swedish clown

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Hackner has been likened to Mr Bean but a better comparison is Tommy Cooper - if Tommy Cooper wore a sequinned Elvis jump suit rather than a Fez. Stumbling and mumbling, this striking Viking quickly wedged a baguette-sized harmonica in his mouth sideways. And that was just the warm-up.

What followed was beautifully stupid, ranging from slickly executed cup-ball illusions to new twists on the old magic ring routine and a sadistic bunny-roasting version of the rabbit-in-a-hat classic.

Rubber chickens, Jaggeresque lips and other joke-shop staples sustained the lunatic energy.

It was a shame that some closing parodic folk music slowed things just as Hackner should have built to a climax. He made amends, however, with an encore that was low on mystery, big on knives and ketchup-hued gore. Magnificent, mindless fun.

Until tomorrow, then 10-12 December (020 7482 4857, www.etceteratheatre.com).

Carl-Einar Hackner
Etcetera Theatre
Camden High Street, NW1 7BU