When he’s not treading the boards at the theatre, Jefferson Bond is splitting sides at the Citizen Comedy Club in Valkendorfsgade – over the past few years, the Belfast-born comedian and actor has become a mainstay on Copenhagen’s standup scene. We caught up with him for My Lovely CPH to get his views on living here.
I first came to Denmark … in 2016 because I was offered a part in a show at Tivoli called the ‘Crazy Christmas Cabaret‘ as Robin Hood. I was in it for six years, but I stopped last year because I wanted to do my own thing.
If you asked me if it was love at first sight … I would say yes. I understand quite a lot of foreigners, like myself, struggle in Copenhagen, but I find the sensibility here is very similar to Britain or Ireland. I kind of fell in love with the place immediately.
My favourite thing about living in Copenhagen is … everything just works, man. In London, and especially in northern England, trains are delayed or there’s roadworks and things of that nature. The infrastructure here – it just works. Don’t get me wrong: there are issues but nothing can truly be perfect.
My favourite observation about the Danes is … they try to plan absolutely everything. I don’t think there’s a Danish word for spontaneity. When you just want to do something, people say: “What about Week 59?” – and I don’t even know when that is. I didn’t know weeks were scheduled like military operations. Another thing is how cultured the Danes are. Compared to the UK they seem really well educated.
On an integration scale of 1 to 10 I would say I’m … an 8. My partner would say about a seven because there are certain things that pop up every now and then. Like we’ve all recently had Årsopgørelsen, right? And you try and make sense of it. And it’s like you need an advanced degree in both finance and hieroglyphics, with questions like did you pay your unicycle taxes?
Jeg kan tale … godt dansk. I was on the train about a month and a half ago. It was about two in the morning and I was going home on the Metro from a gig. And four blokes came in quite drunk. I suddenly realised I could understand everything they were saying and I thought: “Oh my God, if you can understand drunk Danes you’ve reached the pinnacle of your fluency”. I was really patting myself on the back. And then one of them said: “I’ve got to pick up the wee bairn tomorrow,” and I realised they were just Scottish.
Most of my friends are … primarily Danish.
The best way of making Danish friends is … well, it’s a good question. I see this asked a lot by the expats in the groups online. I remember one guy who wrote: “Why is it so hard to make Danish friends. I’m a nice guy. I’M A NICE GUY.” I think sometimes people get in their own way a little bit.
If I could choose three food and drink venues I would go for … Sliders, which is such a great little burger place. There’s the Taphouse , if you want to drink something other than just Tuborg or Carlsberg. And then finally, at the top of my list, is Mæxico. They have this deal: for about 400 kroner you can get unlimited tacos and margarita cocktails, and the quality is just incredible.
The best place to visit on a budget is … not Copenhagen. It isn’t really the best place if you’re on a budget.
The three words that I think best describe Copenhagen are … culture, security and liveliness.
Jefferson is currently working on his first one-man stand-up show on the themes of Denmark and turning 30 (which he’ll do on Friday). He will also be performing in Shakespeare in the Park again this summer.
