April 2012

ear Friends of German Comedy,
I hope you’ve had a great month so far.

This is the point when I usually give you some logistical or administrative explanation as to why the newsletter is being sent out late; i.e. being burgled, overseeing flatmate’s chocolate consumption, or stashing away Royal Wedding memorabilia.

Unfortunately, I can’t this time round. The simple truth for sending this late is I haven’t had a single amusing thought all month.

What’s the point of topical comedy anyway? Everything outdates so quickly.

Even perennially topical material about the difference between men and women becomes old hat before long what with gender stereotypes changing massively over the centuries.These days women are more and more in control of their own destiny, thanks to them having the vote and the invention of the washing machine.

No, the only topic in comedy that will always be topical and relevant and never change is World War II.
Why I ever bothered writing about anything else is beyond me.

Looking on the bright side though, not having sent out the newsletter so far turned out to be a good thing.

Because if April has so far proven one thing it’s that silence is golden. Especially when Scousers are on the lookout for something to be offended about.

Their trademark over-the-top victim mentality shone at its brightest when sending death threats to Alan Davies for suggesting there were horrific tragedies on other days than April 15th, the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

And there certainly were. August 28th for example. The day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act was signed,starting Liverpool’s unstoppable decline.

In other news: my countryman Sebastian Vettel at long last understands what it means to be German.
Having for years played fast and lose with our national reputation and my livelihood with his constant smiling, and being jolly and charming he finally saw sense and after clipping Narain Karthikeyan’s front wing he called him an idiot who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a Formula One car.

Now let’s hope that Vettel makes further progress. Because anyone can be furious after a bad race.
What’s really important is to be ungracious when winning.

Finally, I want to reassure northern readers that even though Greggs pasties now carry VAT, oranges, bananas and all other fruit and vegetables remain exempt.

That’s it – have a great month

Henning

Please find below a list of my upcoming gigs. It would be great to see you at one of those. Tickets for all shows on www.henningwehn.de

May I also recommend a one-off solo show of my writing partner, the fabulous Liam Mullone, at London’s Leicester Square Theatre on Wednesday, Apr 18th at 7pm.

Would be great if you could make it. I’ll definitely be there. Tickets here.

But now, please find my No Surrender tour dates below. Please note there are additional dates in Sandwich and Holmfirth.