Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap

Think Danish comedians and you're probably thinking Sandi Toksvig and... Well, Sofie Hagen is better than all of them. This is the London-based comedian's first Edinburgh hour, and if it's not being described as an "invasion" by the end of the month, then metaphor-hungry journalists just aren't doing their jobs right.

For starters, what Hagen has put together here is a Fabergé egg of a show. Essentially, it's the story of a single, pivotal evening in the development of a person and artist, structured around two enormous tangents – one childhood memory involving the theft of a horse, the other a teenage drama based around a Westlife obsession. It's a tightly wrapped, beautifully jewelled little investigation into female self-confidence and artistic awakening. It is, possibly, worth doing your homework, though. Hagen never quite brings the audience up to speed with her encyclopedic knowledge of the Irish hit-makers. Spend five minutes genning up at least on what Brian, Nicky, Kian, Mark and Shane look like, and you'll better be able to imagine along with Hagen.

Secondly, it's a beautiful demonstration of varied joke-writing. From icy quips, nicely pointed outrage (particulaly around Brian McFadden's leaving of Westlife – "never forget; never forgive") and subversions of the tropes of comedy ("aren't men always like 'nag, nag, nag'"), Hagen's creativity and discipline belies her newcomer states. But for sheer joy alone, you've got to hear her verbatim re-tellings of a small selection of the hundreds of short stories about Westlife she penned while a teenager. Combining a precocious way with words and an angsty teenager's tortured misunderstandings ("Nicky's erection got heavier and heavier"), they serve as both comedy gold and fascinating juvenilia. Quite where Hagen goes next following this tell-all show is anyone's guess, but it's going to be exciting to watch.