December 2015
Dear Friends of German Comedy…
Woohoo, it’s December! Ihr Kinderlein kommet, Klinggloeckchenklingelingeling and all that. Unfortunately this year I have missed the big opening of the German Christmas Market in Birmingham, a fascinating event! Last time I was there I was truly gob-smacked as to how many of my countrymen these days are fluent in Romanian.
Anyway, now it’s time for the tale of my favourite Christmas present of all time.
Let me take you back all the way to 1987, when Weihnachtsmann [only recently did I find out it was actually my Mutter!!!] gave me a cassette tape of Kemal Ozturk, a stand-up who is virtually unknown in Turkey but became reasonably well-known in Germany, his adopted home country.
I clearly remember the striking blue and yellow colour combination of the tape’s sleeve. Or is it ‘cover’? No-one knows.
Either way, I had only ever seen Ozturk on panel shows, where his presence led to everyone cracking some tired jokes about invading Cyprus. It’s fair to say he wasn’t for me. I much preferred Helge Schneider and Gerhard Polt and Otto Kuhnle and such like.
God knows therefore why Weihnachtsmann [my Mutter!!!] bought me Ozturk’s ‘Hallo Gastarbeiter’ tape but seeing there’s only so many repeats of Tutti-Frutti one can watch I finally put it in the recorder and what can I say: his stand-up was so much better than I expected. He was so much more than just ‘that Turkish bloke’.
His style of humour was rooted in traditional political Kabarett; most his jokes were blunt statements, delivered with a twinkle in his eye. He was not only a great writer but also a very skilled performer and when I discovered he had been going for more than a decade I couldn’t believe I had been missing out on him all that time.
Luckily he was selling tapes of all his previous shows at his gigs and this gave me the opportunity to build a complete collection of all his shows. I will forever be grateful to Weihnachtsmann [my Mutter!!!] for this amazing present.
Frohe Weihnachten and have a good start to 2016
Henning
PS: If you’re googling Kemal Ozturk and you’re not getting any results it only illustrates the extreme fickleness of success in the entertainment business.
PPS: Eins, Zwei, DIY is out on DVD! Get it here: DVD on Amazon | Download at iTunes
As you can see there are some very encouraging reviews already.
PPPS: Please find below a list of upcoming gigs. I’ll be adding loads more 2016 gigs in the next few days and weeks.
Please revisit the website for the latest updates.
May 2021
5th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
6th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
13th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
19th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
26th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
27th -
YOUR GAFF - Zoom -
TICKETS
29th -
Hassocks - The Hassocks Hotel -
TICKETS
30th -
Hassocks - The Hassocks Hotel -
TICKETS
June 2021
12th -
Tring - Court Theatre -
TICKETS
24th -
Newhampton - Arts Centre -
TICKETS
25th -
Newhampton - Arts Centre -
TICKETS
July 2021
26th -
Bath - Widcombe Social Club -
TICKETS
27th -
Bath - Widcombe Social Club -
TICKETS
September 2021
23rd -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
24th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
25th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
30th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
October 2021
1st -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
2nd -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
7th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
8th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
9th -
London - Leicester Square Theatre -
TICKETS
13th -
Exeter - Corn Exchange -
TICKETS
14th -
Exeter - Corn Exchange -
TICKETS
15th -
Swindon - Wyvern Theatre -
TICKETS
16th -
Swindon - Wyvern Theatre -
TICKETS
21st -
Swansea - Grand Theatre -
TICKETS
22nd -
Bedford - Corn Exchange -
TICKETS
23rd -
Stevenage - Concert Hall -
TICKETS
29th -
Guildford - G Live -
TICKETS
30th -
Loughborough - Town Hall -
TICKETS
31st -
Peterborough - The Cresset -
TICKETS
November 2021
11th -
Hayes - Beck Theatre -
TICKETS
12th -
Basingstoke - The Anvil -
TICKETS
13th -
Worthing - Pavilion -
TICKETS
18th -
Whitley Bay - Playhouse -
TICKETS
19th -
Sheffield - The Octagon -
TICKETS
20th -
Northampton - Derngate -
TICKETS
21st -
Dartford - The Orchard -
TICKETS
26th -
Leamington Spa - Royal Spa Centre -
TICKETS
27th -
Crewe - Lyceum -
TICKETS
28th -
Malvern - The Forum -
TICKETS
December 2021
2nd -
Brighton - Dome -
TICKETS
3rd -
Southend - Cliffs Pavilion -
TICKETS
5th -
Bexhill - De La Warr Pavilion -
TICKETS
12th -
Poole - Lighthouse -
TICKETS
13th -
London - Cadogan Hall -
TICKETS
February 2022
9th -
Camberley - Camberley Theatre -
TICKETS
10th -
Andover - The Lights -
TICKETS
11th -
Andover - The Lights -
TICKETS
17th -
Stafford - Gatehouse -
TICKETS
18th -
Leicester - De Montfort Hall -
TICKETS
19th -
St Albans - Alban Arena -
TICKETS
24th -
Shrewsbury - Theatre Severn -
TICKETS
25th -
Salford - The Lowry -
TICKETS
26th -
Buxton - Opera House -
TICKETS
March 2022
3rd -
Wycombe - Swan -
TICKETS
4th -
Chatham - Central Theatre -
TICKETS
18th -
London - Hackney Empire -
TICKETS
24th -
Lincoln - Engine Shed -
TICKETS
25th -
Kings Lynn - Corn Exchange -
TICKETS
26th -
Cambridge - Corn Exchange -
TICKETS
27th -
Tunbridge Wells - Assembly Hall -
TICKETS
April 2022
8th -
Cheltenham - Town Hall -
TICKETS
9th -
Bath - Forum -
TICKETS
21st -
Arbroath - Webster Theatre -
TICKETS
22nd -
Dundee - Whitehall Theatre -
TICKETS
23rd -
Aberdeen - Tivoli Theatre -
TICKETS
24th -
Inverness - Eden Court
- TICKETS SOON
May 2022
6th -
Port Talbot - Princess Royal Theatre -
TICKETS
7th -
Cardiff - St Davids Hall -
TICKETS
8th -
Southampton - Mayflower -
TICKETS
12th -
Barnstaple - Queens Theatre -
TICKETS
13th -
Yeovil - Westlands
- TICKETS SOON
June 2022
3rd -
Shanklin IOW - Shanklin Theatre
- TICKETS SOON
10th -
Nottingham - Playhouse -
TICKETS
18th -
Bradford - St Georges Hall -
TICKETS
30th -
Douglas Isle of Man - Gaiety Theatre -
TICKETS
